There's been a surge of interest in BNPL services in China over the last decade, said Kapil Tuli, marketing professor at the Singapore Management University's Lee Kong Chian School of Business.
A few factors are fueling the "perfect storm" for the growing trend, according to Tuli. They include unprecedented low interest rates, the rise of online payment through "super apps" like Alipay and WeChat and extremely well-funded fintech start-ups eager to acquire new customers. The Chinese BNPL sector emerged as one of the fastest growing markets in Asia-Pacific region, according to a survey by research and consulting firm PayNXT360.