The use of buy now, pay later products doubled between 2024 and 2025, a new report from digital payments provider Payfast by Network has revealed, underscoring growing demand for flexible credit options. The company’s ‘State of Pay 2025’ study gathered insights into the digital activities of South African businesses across a range of industries, including clothing and accessories, recreation and travel, and general merchandise. According to the survey, buy now, pay later (BNPL) has become the most requested new method of payment, with 34% by consumers asking merchants to implement it.
Payfast, a unit of fintech operator Network International, services over 100,000 businesses. Card payments continued to be the preferred method for online purchases between 2024 and 2025 — used by 54% of consumers. BNPL doubled its share from 3% in 2024 to 6% in 2025, signalling growing interest among South African shoppers.
“BNPL is especially worth keeping an eye on, as it has the ability to drive big-ticket sales and higher margins, representing a lucrative opportunity for merchants,” said the company. BNPL, which is offered by several online payment companies including Payflex, PayJustNow and Happy Pay, guarantees full payment to the merchant while enabling customers to buy goods and pay small amounts upfront and the balances over time, usually weeks. Until the advent of BNPL, retailers, particularly in electronics and furniture, had typically offered options to pay for items through 12-, 24- and 36-month instalments.
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In addition, Payflex noted that credit facilities such as Mobicred “are also making their mark,” with 32% of respondents reporting usage, highlighting a growing demand for flexible, affordability-driven payment tools. “While this doesn’t confirm overall growth in credit use, it does point to the rising influence of affordability tools in shaping online payment behaviour,” the company said. Over 45,000 merchants are reported to be in the Mobicred network, new customers spending an average of R8,000 and existing customers spending an average of R1,400.
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