Lokesh Choudhary · · 1 min readBukalapak discontinues BukaCicilan, adding to woes in BNPL space
Photo credit: Bukalapak
As of February 29, 2024, Indonesian ecommerce giant Bukalapak has discontinued its buy now, pay later offering, BukaCicilan. The move adds to a string of exits in the BNPL segment in recent months.
Bukalapak’s decision aims to streamline installment payment options for customers, Desy Hartono, the company’s vice president of financial solutions, told Tech in Asia Indonesia.
Hartono said that users will now be encouraged to apply directly with BNPL providers like Kredivo – an approach that would be more convenient for Bukalapak customers.
BukaCicilan was a feature that was launched in collaboration with Akulaku Finance Indonesia in October 2018.
However, Bukalapak stressed that the closure of BukaCicilan is unrelated to the temporary operating restrictions that were imposed on Akulaku by Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority in October 2023.
Akulaku’s BNPL activities were reinstated as of March 4, 2024.
It’s certainly been a turbulent few months for the BNPL sector, with Singapore-based ShopBack discontinuing its PayLater service, while Atom exited Vietnam. Fellow BNPL player Pace also filed for liquidation in November and India’s ZestMoney underwent a distress sale after a failed acquisition.
See Also: BNPL’s future on a knife-edge as ZestMoney averts shutdown
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Jaclyn Tiu
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