Determinants of Overdue Payment Behaviour Among Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Users in Terengganu, Malaysia (iBAF e-Proceedings)

Summary

• A survey of 194 respondents found that 38.7% are BNPL users.p.1
• Of the 75 BNPL users, 48 (64%) had been involved in overdue payments.p.8
• Malaysia had approximately 8 million active BNPL holders and a total loan balance of RM5.3 billion at the end of March 2026.p.2
• Overdue BNPL loans totalled RM181 million, equal to 3.4% of the total outstanding balance.p.2
• Shopee PayLater was the platform usually used by 82.7% of BNPL users.p.8
• The regression model explains 80.2% of the variance in overdue payment behaviour.p.10

Key insights

1. Financial literacy has a moderate negative correlation with overdue payment behaviour (r = -.437).p.9
2. Self-control has a significant negative effect on BNPL overdue payments (t = -4.228).p.11
3. Financial stress has a significant positive effect on BNPL overdue payments (t = 5.954).p.11
4. In the regression, financial literacy and impulsive buying behaviour do not significantly affect overdue payments, so two of the four hypotheses were rejected.p.10
5. Most respondents were aged 18-30 (62.4%) and 53.6% reported a monthly income below RM1000.p.8
6. BNPL providers are encouraged to adopt affordability assessments, spending limits and timely repayment reminders.p.12