Analysis of The Determinants of Buy-Now-Pay-Later Payment Mode Among Malaysians in Klang Valley DOI: https://doi.org/10.33093/ijomfa.2026.7.2.6
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service has become increasingly popular in Malaysia in recent years, especially in the Klang Valley. The BNPL service offers consumers a more convenient payment method and access to credit, raising concerns about increased household debt and financial vulnerability. In this study, this paper used financial literacy, perceived risk, credit attitude, and economic vulnerability to examine which factors influence the intention to use the BNPL payment mode. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is used to explain the factors influencing consumers’ intention to use BNPL services. This study adopts a quantitative research design and collects primary data through a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 250 responses were collected and analysed using SPSS. The findings of this research show that financial literacy, credit attitude, and economic vulnerability have a significant positive influence on the intention to use BNPL. Only perceived risk has no significant impact on intention to use the BNPL mode. The findings can have practical implications for policymakers, regulators, and BNPL service providers to improve BNPL regulation and support sustainable development in Malaysia.
Article Details
References
Acharya, U., & Bhojak, D. N. (2024). A study on digital natives’ adoption of Fintech: Perspectives from generations Y and Z. International Journal of Management and Humanities (IJMH), 11(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijmh.A1750.11010924
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Alessa, G., & Alabdan, R. (2025). The impact of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services on Saudi university students’ buying and financial behaviors. Advances and Applications in Statistics, 92, 489–535. https://doi.org/10.17654/0972361725022
Amin, H., Rahim Abdul Rahman, A., Laison Sondoh, S., & Magdalene Chooi Hwa, A. (2011). Determinants of customers’ intention to use Islamic personal financing. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 2(1), 22–42. https://doi.org/10.1108/17590811111129490
Andrian, A., & Selamat, F. (2022). The influence of consumer’s perceived risk on consumer’s online purchase intention in Indonesia. In Proceedings of the 3rd Tarumanagara International Conference on the Applications of Social Sciences and Humanities (TICASH 2021) (pp. 669–676). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220404.105
Ashby, R., Sharifi, S., Yao, J., & Ang, L. (2025). The influence of the buy-now-pay-later payment mode on consumer spending decisions. Journal of Retailing, 101(1), 103–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2025.01.003
BANK NEGARA MALAYSIA. (2025). Industries – CCOB Task Force. https://ccob.my/industries/
Bhandari, A. (2025). Factors affecting credit card usage attitude: The mediating role of transaction behavior in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/390656770_Factors_Affecting_Credit_Card_Usage_Attitude_The_Mediating_Role_of_Transaction_Behavior_in_Butwal_Sub-Metropolitan_City
Bonovas, S., & Piovani, D. (2023). On p-values and statistical significance. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(3), 900. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12030900
Chernovita, H. P. (2020). The role of financial literacy to suppress temptation of using PayLater service. 2020 IEEE 10th Symposium on Computer Applications & Industrial Electronics (ISCAIE), 113–117. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCAIE47305.2020.9108830
Chiang, Y.T. (2024). Which U.S. Households Have Credit Card Debt? https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2024/may/which-us-households-have-credit-card-debt
Chien, Y., & Devaney, S. (2005). The effects of credit attitude and socioeconomic factors on credit card and installment debt. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 35, 162–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2001.tb00107.x
Conner, M., & Norman, P. (2022). Understanding the intention–behavior gap: The role of intention strength. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 923464. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.923464/full
Cuandra, F. (2022). The effect of Paylater payment method used in online impulsive buying in Batam City.
SEIKO: Journal of Management & Business, 5(1), Article https://journal.stieamkop.ac.id/index.php/seiko/article/view/1741
Descheemaeker, M., Spruyt, A., Fazio, R. H., & Hermans, D. (2017). On the generalization of attitude accessibility after repeated attitude expression. European Journal of Social Psychology, 47(1), 97-104. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2206
Donou-Adonsou, F., & Leslie-Piper, N. (2025). BNPL and financial fragility in U.S. households. Finance Research Letters, 86, 108423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2025.108423
Fauziah, M. T., Ramayah, T., & Abdul Razak, D. (2008). Factors influencing intention to use diminishing partnership home financing. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 1(3), 235–248. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538390810901168
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research (Vol. 27).
Haws, K., Bearden, W., & Nenkov, G. (2011). Consumer spending self-control effectiveness and outcome elaboration prompts. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0249-2
Huston, S. J. (2010). Measuring financial literacy. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(2), 296–316. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2010.01170.x
Jing, T., Yi, S., Nik Abdullah, N. H., Fun, C., Johari, A., Sian, K., & Kelvin, L. (2024). The impact of social media on BNPL adoption in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-i9/22754
Juita, V., Pujani, V., Rahim, R., & Rahayu, R. (2024). The influence of user’s digital financial literacy and perceived risks on Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) adoption: A gender’s perspective. 629–645. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-350-4_63
Kao, W. T., & Lau, J. L. (2024). Credit attitude, money attitude and credit misuse among university students in China. Jurnal Pengguna Malaysia, 38(1), 164–188. https://jpmjurnal.com/jpm/article/view/57
Kinanthi, E. S., Elysia Sinarso, I., Bhimasta, R. A., & Dewangga Pramudita, D. P. (2024). Multidimensional analysis of perceived risk in Buy-Now Pay Later services. Sciendo. https://sciendo.com/chapter/9788367405836/10.2478/9788367405836-003
Kleinbard, M., Sollows, J., & Udis, L. (2022, September 15). Buy Now, Pay Later: Market trends and consumer impacts. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/buy-now-pay-later-market-trends-and-consumer-impacts/
Koenig-Lewis, N., Marquet, M., Palmer, A., & Zhao, A. L. (2015). Enjoyment and social influence: Predicting mobile payment adoption. The Service Industries Journal, 35(10), 537–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2015.1043278
Kshatri, D. U. (2025). Financial literacy and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL): The effect of financial awareness on spending habits. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 8(11), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v8i11.2990
Kumar, S. S., & Nayak, J. (2024). Understanding the intricacies of risky indebtedness, impulse buying and perceived risk in buy-now-pay-later adoption. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 36. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-08-2023-0759
Larrimore, J., Lloro, A., Merchant, Z., & Tranfaglia, A. (2024). “The only way I could afford it”: Who uses BNPL and why. Federal Reserve. https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/the-only-way-i-could-afford-it-who-uses-bnpl-and-why-20241220.html
Lee, J. M., & Lee, Y. G. (2021). Multidimensional credit attitude and credit card debt behavior in the United States. Review of Behavioral Finance, 14(2), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1108/RBF-09-2020-0239
Lown, J., & Cook, J. (1990). Attitudes Toward Seeking Financial Counseling: Instrument Development. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 1. https://www.afcpe.org/news-and-publications/journal-of-financial-counseling-and-planning/volume-1/attitudes-toward-seeking-financial-counseling-instrument-development/
Lu, Y., Cao, Y., Wang, B., & Yang, S. (2011). A study on factors that affect users’ behavioral intention to transfer usage from the offline to the online channel. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(1), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.08.013
Németh, E., Deák-Zsótér, B., & Kálmán, B. (2023). Order creates value: Personality, attitudinal and behavioral factors of financial vulnerability. Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas, 19, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.21919/remef.v19i1.957
Ng, G. (2023, May 18). Exploring the rise of BNPL: Unlocking affordability or encouraging overspending? KrASIA. https://kr-asia.com/exploring-the-rise-of-bnpl-unlocking-affordability-or-encouraging-overspending
Nguyen, K., Bao, T., Thai, C., Duong, V., & Nguyen, T. (2024). Promoting consumers’ adoption of Buy-Now-Pay-Later feature while using e-wallet application: The case of Gen Z in Vietnam. European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 19, 555–564. https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecie/article/view/2593
Pontoh, M. A. H., Worang, F. G., & Tumewu, F. J. (2022). The influence of perceived ease of use, perceived risk and consumer trust towards merchant intention in using QRIS as a digital payment method. Junal EMBA: Jurnal Riset Ekonomi, Manajemen, Bisnis Dan Akuntansi, 10(3), 904–913. https://doi.org/10.35794/emba.v10i3.42664
PYMNTS. (2025, May 30). Fed, PYMNTS reports highlight how financially strained consumers use BNPL. PYMNTS.Com. https://www.pymnts.com/buy-now-pay-later/2025/fed-pymnts-reports-highlight-how-financially-strained-consumers-use-bnpl/
Roberts, J., & Jones, E. (2001). Money attitudes, credit card use, and compulsive buying among American college students. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 35, 213–240. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2001.tb00111.x
Sady, M., Rasyid, A., & Pasolo, F. (2024). The effect of financial literacy and credit procedures on credit taking decisions. Advances in Economics & Financial Studies, 2(3), 113–127. https://doi.org/10.60079/aefs.v2i3.161
Setiawan, M., Effendi, N., Santoso, T., Dewi, V., & Sapulette, M. (2020). Digital financial literacy, current behavior of saving and spending and its future foresight. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 31, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10438599.2020.1799142
Tang, K. L., Chee Keong, O., & Chong, J. (2020). Perceived risk factors affect intention to use FinTech. Journal of Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies, 6, 453–463. https://doi.org/10.26710/jafee.v6i2.1101
Webster, K., Murray, S., & Edison, S. (2025). 10 impact statements: The 2024 pay later report—January 2025. The 2024 Pay Later Report. https://www.pymnts.com/study/10-impact-statements-2024-pay-later-report/
Wilhelm, M. S., Varcoe, K., & Fridrich, A. H. (1993). Financial satisfaction and assessment of financial progress: Importance of money attitudes. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 4, 181–199. https://experts.arizona.edu/en/publications/financial-satisfaction-and-assessment-of-financial-progress-impor/
Zahiid, S. J. (2025, March 24). Are Malaysians shopping their way into debt? Data shows BNPL use, personal loan-taking on the rise. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/03/24/are-malaysians-shopping-their-way-into-debt-data-shows-bnpl-use-personal-loan-taking-on-the-rise/170440
Zainudin, R., Mahdzan, N. S., & Yeap, M.-Y. (2019). Determinants of credit card misuse among Gen Y consumers in urban Malaysia. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 37(5), 1350–1370. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-08-2018-0215