Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has become a must-have in the payment landscape in just a few years. This major trend, which allows consumers to pay for their purchases in installments, represents a real challenge for companies offering this type of financing solution. Beyond the marketing and commercial aspects, the implementation and operational management of BNPL raise many technological issues. Scoring systems, integration of subscription processes into purchasing journeys, monitoring of collections, reminders for unpaid debts... All these functionalities require having the right tools to effectively manage the entire spectrum of deferred payments, from short-term financing to long-term leases. What are the most suitable technological solutions and how to choose them? Let's take a closer look.

Overview of the Different Types of Deferred Payments to Manage

Buy Now Pay Later actually covers a wide variety of payment and deferred financing solutions. We can distinguish three main categories, each with its own specificities in terms of duration, amounts, repayment terms and risk management:

1\. Short-Term Installment Payments

This is the most common and well-known form of BNPL. The principle is simple: the consumer pays for their purchase in 3 or 4 installments, over a period generally ranging from 1 to 2 months. This type of deferred payment is often offered free of charge to the end customer.

For companies offering this type of BNPL, the main challenges are managing the risk of non-payment, seamlessly integrating the subscription process into the purchase funnel, and monitoring collections. Features such as automated scoring and reminders for unpaid debts are therefore essential.

2\. Medium-Term Financing

For higher amounts or more durable goods, companies can offer longer-term financing solutions over 6, 12 or even 24 months. This is referred to as "Pay in Several Installments" or consumer credit. These offers are usually accompanied by fees for the consumer, in the form of application fees or debit interest.

Managing these financings is more complex, with specific regulatory constraints (mandatory solvency verification for example). The platform must allow for managing the complete life cycle of the contract, from the initial simulation to debt collection, including the transfer of accounting entries. The challenge is also to be able to quickly configure new offers and evolve existing products.

3\. Long-Term Leasing

Leasing or lease-to-own (LTO) are long-term financing formulas that allow the customer to lease an asset for several years (generally 2 to 5 years), before deciding to return it or become the owner. This financing method is widely used in sectors such as automotive or professional equipment.

In addition to managing rents and purchase options, these contracts require the ability to track assets over time, manage claims and maintenance, and manage distributor partner networks. The combination of a powerful and customizable front-end with a robust back-office is a must-have.

For companies that want to get into BNPL, it is therefore essential to have a technological platform capable of managing all these different types of deferred payments and financing, with the specifics of each. This requires dedicated functional blocks, but also and above all open and flexible tools, capable of adapting to the particularities of each business and each offer.

Technological Challenges for Companies Offering BNPL

For companies that want to get into Buy Now Pay Later or expand their deferred payment offerings, choosing the right technology platform is crucial. Beyond the functionalities needed to manage the different types of financing, several challenges must be taken into account:

1\. Integration and Speed of Deployment

The chosen platform must allow for quick and seamless integration with the company's existing systems (e-commerce site, CRM, ERP, business tools...), but also with the ecosystem of partners and external data providers (credit bureaus, electronic signature solutions, collection service providers...).

The ability to deploy new products or new partnerships in just a few weeks is a key competitive advantage. This requires low-code/no-code tools, open APIs and pre-integrated connectors.

2\. Flexibility and Customization

Each company has its own specificities in terms of products, processes, and business rules. The solution must therefore be highly configurable and customizable, whether at the level of workflows, data fields, management rules or user interface.

This flexibility is essential to adapt to the needs of each activity and differentiate one's offer, but also to manage various product plans and pricing models within the same platform.

3\. Process Automation and Industrialization

To manage large volumes of contracts and customers while controlling risks, process automation is essential: partner onboarding, contract underwriting, credit decisions, collections and delinquency management...

The challenge is to industrialize case processing, relying on rule engines, scoring algorithms and process orchestration tools. The goal: to gain in productivity and scalability while keeping control over key decisions.

In summary, the ideal technology platform for BNPL must allow finding the right balance between speed to market, offer customization and operations automation. A challenge that generalist solutions often struggle to meet, hence the interest in favoring specialized technologies, designed specifically for this business.

Key Features of a Deferred Payment Management Platform

To meet these challenges, a technology platform dedicated to BNPL must offer a wide range of functionalities, from product management to partner management, including operations automation. Among the most important building blocks are:

1\. A Flexible Product Configurator

The platform must allow for easily creating and configuring a wide range of financing products, defining the characteristics of each offer: duration, minimum and maximum amounts, interest rate, fees, installment calculation method, end-of-contract options, etc.

This flexibility in product configuration is essential to offer differentiated offers and quickly adapt to market changes or customer expectations.

2\. Smooth and Omnichannel Subscription Journeys

The subscription experience is a key element in the success of a BNPL offer. The platform must allow for digitizing the entire customer journey, from simulation to electronic contract signing, including the collection of supporting documents.

These journeys must be designed with an omnichannel logic, to offer a seamless experience, whether the customer starts their request online, in-store or via a partner. The challenge is to simplify the process as much as possible for the customer, leveraging the latest technologies in OCR, KYC, electronic signature, etc.

3\. Decision Support and Scoring Tools

To automate financing decisions while controlling risks, the platform must integrate decision support and scoring tools. This involves the ability to collect and analyze multiple internal and external customer data to assess the solvency of each applicant.

The platform must allow for easily building and configuring decision rules, according to the specific criteria of each financing offer. AI can also be used to analyze large volumes of data in real time and refine credit decisions.

Beyond these core functionalities, a BNPL platform must also cover many other areas such as contract management, collections tracking, delinquency recovery, regulatory reporting, subsidiary accounting, etc. All these building blocks can make a difference in operational efficiency and risk control.

Integration, Agility, Scalability: Selection Criteria for a Suitable Technology Solution

Faced with the diversity of solutions available on the market, how to choose the right technology platform for BNPL? Beyond the functionalities, several criteria must be taken into account to ensure making the right choice:

1\. System Openness and Interoperability

The platform must be designed from the start with an open logic, to be able to easily communicate with the company's internal and external ecosystem. This involves:

• Well-documented REST APIs to interconnect the different components of the information system (CRM, accounting, business tools...)
• A catalog of pre-integrated connectors with the main market solutions (payment systems, electronic signature, KYC...)
• The ability to easily develop new specific integrations thanks to a powerful extension framework

For example, a company like Orion Leasing was able to transparently connect to more than 25 local data platforms (credit bureaus, company registers...) to automate its decision processes thanks to Basikon.

2\. Configuration Flexibility and Richness

To be able to finely configure its products and business processes, the platform must offer extensive configuration possibilities, accessible to business users. A few key points:

• A visual design studio allowing to easily create and modify workflows, management rules, user interfaces
• The ability to configure new data fields, document templates, notification templates without development
• Advanced pricing tools to define complex price grids and evolve them quickly

This is what allowed a company like Leascorp to design and deploy new sales channels in less than a week, and to adapt very precisely to the needs of each partner using Basikon.

3\. Platform Scalability and Security

Finally, the technical architecture of the platform must be designed to scale up and absorb large volumes of data and transactions, while guaranteeing a high level of security and availability. The points of attention:

• A cloud-native architecture, relying on proven technologies (Kubernetes, microservices...)
• Automatic elasticity mechanisms to adapt resources to load in real time
• Advanced security features: data encryption, permission management, audit trail...

By leveraging Basikon, high-growth companies like Solfiz or Arrawaj were able to absorb a 10-fold increase in their volumes in a few months, while maintaining optimal performance.

The choice of a technology platform for BNPL should therefore not be left to chance. By favoring open, flexible and scalable solutions, companies give themselves the means to innovate quickly and build differentiated financing offers, while industrializing their operations to support growth.

Choosing the Right Technology Solution, a Strategic Challenge to Succeed in BNPL

The Buy Now Pay Later market is booming, driven by changing consumer habits and expectations regarding payment. For companies that want to enter this market or accelerate their development, the choice of technology platform is crucial.

Beyond the basic functionalities needed to manage the different types of financing, the solution must address several key challenges:

• Allow for quickly designing and launching new offers, adapting to the specifics of each activity and each partner
• Provide a smooth and omnichannel customer experience, from subscription to installment management
• Automate and industrialize business processes, from underwriting to collections through accounting
• Support growth and scaling, in terms of volumes, products and markets addressed

To meet these challenges, generalist management or payment solutions often show their limits. It is preferable to opt for specialized platforms, specifically designed for BNPL, which will provide both:

• Complete functional coverage, from partner onboarding to delinquency management
• Great flexibility and extensive configuration possibilities by business users
• APIs and connectors facilitating integration into existing systems and processes
• A scalable and secure architecture, leveraging the latest cloud technologies

As illustrated by the examples of Leascorp, Orion Leasing or Arrawaj, investing in a suitable technology platform is a real accelerator for building competitive and scalable BNPL offers. It is the key to differentiate oneself in an increasingly competitive market and meet new customer expectations in terms of installment payments and financing.