Leading BNPL Companies
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is currently one of the most popular online payment methods. In 2022, it was used by 5% of the global population, and this is expected to rise to 6% by 2026. Its adoption is also widespread among small businesses in the United States, with recent figures showing that more than one-third of businesses there accept it as a payment option.
But what are the largest buy now, pay later companies in the world? Here’s a breakdown of the 10 leading BNPL companies.
Biggest BNPL companies by market cap
According to a recent study, Mastercard Inc. tops the chart ranking the world’s top BNPL companies by their market capitalization. Founded in 1966, the company is now worth $329 billion. Analysts attribute its growth to the rising number of BNPL users in the US, and the latest numbers suggest Mastercard’s BNPL user base is set to rise from 45.1 million in 2022 to 76.6 million in 2025.
Mastercard’s lead as the top BNPL company is remarkable. PayPal Holdings Inc., the second-largest BNPL company, has a market cap of $78 billion—less than one-quarter of Mastercard’s. Worldwide, the number of PayPal users has been growing and is forecast to surpass 200 million for the first time in 2023, before rising further to 217.8 million by 2026.
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Third on the list of the largest BNPL companies is Block Inc., formerly known as Square Inc. With a market cap of $36 billion, the company owns Cash App, a popular mobile payment service used by 45.5 million people in the US.
This is followed by Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd., the leading BNPL company in Southeast Asia. The company is currently valued at $11 billion. Sweden’s Klarna rounds out the five biggest BNPL companies in the world, with a market cap of $7 billion.
The sixth-biggest BNPL company is Monzo, which was founded in 2015 in the United Kingdom. Its market cap is $4 billion, and a recent analysis shows its user base is growing rapidly, by 100,000 every month. Affirm Holdings Inc. and LatitudePay are next, with market values of $3 billion and $2 billion, respectively. These aforementioned BNPL companies are the only ones worth more than $1 billion.
Zip Co. Ltd. and Openpay Group Ltd., both Australia-based, round out the list of the 10 leading BNPL companies, with market values of $289 million and $30 million, respectively.