You have probably been there. The cart is full, the sale ends tonight, and payday is still a week away. Buy Now, Pay Later apps exist for exactly this moment, letting you complete the purchase now and settle it later, usually without paying a rupee extra if you repay on time.
But here is something worth knowing before you pick one: the BNPL landscape in India has changed a lot recently. A couple of once-popular names have shut down entirely, and the apps that remain now lean heavily on bank backing rather than being standalone fintech products. Here is a guide to what is actually available, how each option works, and how to use any of them without it turning into a debt problem.
What Is BNPL, Exactly?
BNPL, or Buy Now, Pay Later, is a short-term credit facility that lets you make a purchase immediately and repay the amount later, typically within 15 to 30 days, without interest if you pay on time. Functionally, it works like a mini credit line without a physical card. The BNPL provider pays the merchant on your behalf instantly, and you settle up with the provider later, either as a single payment or split into instalments.
The Best BNPL Apps in India Right Now
LazyPay — The Widest Merchant Reach
Backed by PayU, LazyPay remains one of the most broadly accepted BNPL options in India, working across more than 45,000 merchants spanning food delivery, e-commerce, and travel. It offers a credit limit that can go up to Rs 1,00,000 for eligible users, along with a separate personal loan facility up to Rs 5 lakh with instant approval for those who qualify.
Interest-free period: 15 days
EMI options: 3, 6, 9, or 12 months, with no-cost EMI available on select purchases
Best for: Broad, everyday spending across many different platforms
Worth knowing: User reviews consistently mention strict collection practices, with penalties for late payment that can add up quickly if you miss a due date.
Amazon Pay Later — Best If You Shop Mostly on Amazon
Run in partnership with Capital Float and IDFC FIRST Bank, Amazon Pay Later offers instant, paperless credit for purchases on Amazon India. Credit limits depend on your KYC status, with a regulatory cap of Rs 60,000 for minimum-KYC accounts and higher limits available for users who complete full KYC.
Interest-free period: 30 days
EMI options: 3 to 12 months, with a processing fee of around 1.18 percent including GST
Best for: Frequent Amazon shoppers who want one-click checkout without re-entering card details
Worth knowing: This option is tied specifically to the Amazon ecosystem and is not much use for spending elsewhere.
Flipkart Pay Later — Recently Relaunched, Worth a Fresh Look
Flipkart relaunched its Pay Later offering on July 30, 2026, in partnership with PayU Finance, and it is worth mentioning specifically because this is a meaningfully upgraded product compared to Flipkart’s earlier pay-later feature. The new version gives you three separate repayment options: a straightforward Pay Later window of up to 30 days for everyday purchases, a Pay in 3 option that splits your bill across three instalments, and EMI plans running from 3 to 12 months for larger purchases like electronics and appliances. It works across Flipkart, Myntra, and Flipkart Minutes.
Interest-free period: Up to 30 days on the standard Pay Later option
EMI options: 3 to 12 months for higher-value purchases
Best for: Regular Flipkart, Myntra, or Flipkart Minutes shoppers
Worth knowing: Since this is a fresh relaunch, it is worth reading the current terms carefully rather than relying on older reviews of Flipkart’s previous pay-later product, which had a more limited and less flexible structure.
Paytm Postpaid — Best for Offline and Everyday Bill Payments
Paytm Postpaid is built into the broader Paytm app and works for both online and offline merchant payments, along with everyday needs like mobile recharges, utility bills, and fuel purchases. Its credit limit goes up to Rs 60,000.
Interest-free period: Up to 30 days, depending on your specific billing cycle
Best for: Everyday transactions and offline merchant payments, not just online shopping
Worth knowing: Paytm’s wide acceptance at physical stores makes this a genuinely different use case from purely online-only options like Amazon or Flipkart Pay Later.
ICICI Bank PayLater — The Most Structurally Stable Option
If you already bank with ICICI, this is worth a serious look, specifically because it is bank-native rather than a third-party fintech layered on top of a bank partnership. Available through the iMobile Pay app, ICICI PayLater has been operating since 2018, making it one of the longest-running BNPL products in India still active today. It covers online shopping, utility bills, recharges, and UPI merchant payments at physical stores.
Interest-free period: 45 days, longer than most other options on this list
EMI options: Available for UPI transactions above Rs 10,000, in tenures of 3, 6, or 9 months
Best for: Existing ICICI Bank customers who want a stable, bank-backed option
Worth knowing: You cannot apply for this cold. It is gated to pre-selected ICICI Bank customers, so eligibility depends on your existing banking relationship.
Quick Comparison of the Best BNPL Apps in India
| App | Credit Limit | Interest-Free Period | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| LazyPay | Up to Rs 1,00,000 | 15 days | Broadest merchant coverage |
| Amazon Pay Later | Up to Rs 60,000 (higher with full KYC) | 30 days | Amazon shoppers |
| Flipkart Pay Later | Varies by user | Up to 30 days | Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Minutes |
| Paytm Postpaid | Up to Rs 60,000 | Up to 30 days | Offline and everyday payments |
| ICICI Bank PayLater | Varies by user | 45 days | Existing ICICI customers |
What Happened to Simpl and ZestMoney?
If you have used BNPL apps before, you may remember these two names, and you deserve a straight answer about why they are no longer viable options.
ZestMoney shut down completely in December 2023, after failed attempts to find a buyer and mounting losses driven largely by high default rates on its loan book. The company laid off its remaining staff and wound down operations. It simply does not exist anymore.
Simpl is a more recent and more instructive case. In September 2025, the RBI ordered Simpl to immediately stop all payment, clearing, and settlement operations, after finding that the company had been running a payment system without the mandatory Certificate of Authorisation required under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. Simpl had built its popular one-tap checkout product, used by millions across food delivery and e-commerce platforms, without securing this authorisation. Within days, the company laid off roughly half its workforce, and its core BNPL product stopped working for new transactions.
Both cases point to the same underlying shift: India’s BNPL market has moved decisively toward regulated, bank-backed models, and platforms that tried to operate in a grey zone have not survived that transition.
How Does BNPL Actually Work?
The process is fairly consistent across every option on this list:
- Sign up through the app itself, or activate the feature within an app you already use, such as Amazon, Flipkart, or Paytm
- Complete a quick digital KYC process, typically involving your PAN, Aadhaar, and a selfie
- Receive an assigned credit limit based on your eligibility
- Choose BNPL as your payment method at checkout
- Repay by the due date, either in full or by converting to an EMI plan where available
Most users can complete the initial setup in under five minutes.
What Do You Need to Qualify?
Eligibility criteria are broadly similar across providers, though exact requirements vary:
- You generally need to be between 21 and 55 years old
- A salaried or self-employed income source
- PAN, Aadhaar, and basic bank details
- A mobile number linked to Aadhaar for digital KYC
Unlike a credit card, a strong CIBIL score is generally not mandatory to get started, since most BNPL providers rely on their own underwriting models that look at your transaction and repayment behaviour rather than requiring an established credit history from day one.
Where India’s BNPL Regulation Stands Today
This is worth understanding because it directly shaped which apps on this list survived and which did not. Following the Simpl enforcement action and broader scrutiny of the sector, the RBI has pushed BNPL providers firmly toward one of two structures: either obtain a Non-Banking Finance Company licence directly, or operate as a Lending Service Provider on behalf of a licensed bank or NBFC. The RBI also issued updated master directions for payment aggregators in September 2025, tightening compliance requirements across the board.
In practice, this means the apps still standing today are the ones with genuine bank or NBFC backing, not standalone fintech products operating in a regulatory grey area. Credit bureau reporting is now standard practice too. Most major BNPL providers report your repayment behaviour to bureaus like CIBIL and Experian, which means responsible use can genuinely help build your credit history, and missed payments can hurt it just as a missed credit card payment would.
BNPL Risks Worth Knowing
BNPL is convenient, but it is worth going in with clear eyes about the downsides:
Late fees add up fast.
Missing a due date by even a day or two can trigger a penalty, often between Rs 200 and Rs 600 depending on the platform and outstanding amount. For a small purchase, this can push your effective cost surprisingly high.
It affects your credit score.
Since repayment behaviour is now widely reported to credit bureaus, treat every BNPL due date with the same seriousness you would a loan EMI.
Multiple small limits add up to real exposure.
A Rs 10,000 limit here and a Rs 15,000 limit there might each feel manageable individually, but holding several BNPL lines at once means your total outstanding credit can be larger than you realise, and each one is a separate due date to track.
Impulse spending is easy to underestimate.
The frictionless checkout experience that makes BNPL convenient is the same thing that makes overspending easy, since paying later removes the immediate psychological weight of paying now.
If you’re weighing BNPL against a personal loan for the same kind of everyday spending, we’ve covered that comparison in more depth here: Loans for online shopping and BNPL: what you need to know
How to Use BNPL Without It Becoming a Problem
A few habits make the difference between BNPL being a genuine convenience and a slow-building debt trap:
- Treat every BNPL purchase as money already spent, not money you will figure out later
- Set a repayment reminder a few days before the due date, not on the day itself
- Avoid running multiple BNPL accounts simultaneously unless you are confident you can track every due date
- Keep your utilisation well under your assigned limit rather than treating the full limit as available spending money
- Pay in full where possible rather than converting to EMI, since EMI plans typically carry real interest once you go beyond the interest-free window
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best BNPL apps in India right now?
Currently reliable options include LazyPay, Amazon Pay Later, the newly relaunched Flipkart Pay Later, Paytm Postpaid, and ICICI Bank PayLater. Two previously popular apps, ZestMoney and Simpl, have both shut down and are no longer functional.
Why did Simpl and ZestMoney shut down?
ZestMoney shut down in December 2023 after mounting losses and high default rates made the business unsustainable. Simpl was ordered by the RBI in September 2025 to cease all payment operations after the regulator found it was operating without the mandatory authorisation required under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act.
Is BNPL interest-free?
Most BNPL apps offer a genuinely interest-free window, typically 15 to 30 days, sometimes longer. If you convert a purchase to an EMI plan instead of repaying in full within this window, interest typically applies, usually in a range comparable to personal loan rates.
Does using BNPL affect my credit score?
Yes, for most major providers today. BNPL repayment behaviour is increasingly reported to credit bureaus like CIBIL and Experian, meaning consistent on-time repayment can help build your credit history, while missed payments can hurt your score.
Do I need a good CIBIL score to use BNPL?
Not necessarily. Most BNPL providers use their own underwriting models based on your transaction and banking behaviour rather than requiring an established credit score, which makes it accessible to first-time borrowers without a credit card.
Is it safe to use multiple BNPL apps at once?
It is possible, but not advisable. Each additional BNPL account adds to your total credit exposure and creates another due date to track, and missing even one payment across multiple accounts can affect your credit score just as a single missed EMI would.
Last Updated on 3 weeks ago by Team Paisaseekho
