Around September last year, I, together with what felt like thousands of South Africans, congregated to the Kyalami Grand Prix for the annual perfume sale. At this point this feels like a pilgrimage of sorts. At the Grand Prix, as per the norm, scores of vehicles AND people. Still, nothing unusual there. And then the queue, which I thought was longer than I’ve seen before. Still, it was a holiday, I wasn’t rushing anywhere. Hours later, I was still in the same spot. More hours later I was inside, made my selection then proceeded to the payment queue – which also took way longer than I remembered. Now I’m tired, hungry, ready to go home. Finally it was turn to pay. The lady who was “directing traffic” at the point greeted me and practically whispered in my ear “how will you be paying today, cash or pay just now?”. Without thinking must I responded “Cash” and she directed me to an empty till. Less than 5 minutes later I was out with my fragrance haul, exhausted but satisfied at the thought that my cohorts and I will not be purchasing perfumes anytime soon.

A couple of months later at an athleisure store, lady at the till asks me the same question, cash or buy now pay later?”, again, I say “cash”. January 2026, I see an article about how a major supermarket has introduced the pay just now payment option 1 . Now I’m interested and intrigued. I’ve naively never considered the option of buying groceries on credit; my motto has always been “If I can’t afford it right now it’s going on my list for later”. I note how the BNPL option is also available online on the payment page (payment gateway?) – so I can also split my Aldo bag payment into three! Interesting. Come to find, the BNPL payment method is available across thousands of merchants – most e-commerce retailers have also integrated this option into their payment gateway (point of sale?) page. The same question remains “cash or BNPL”?

So I decided to do a bit of research to find out exactly how this solution works before I get carried away with my assumptions; most importantly, what’s the catch? I’m no financial expert but I’m aware of the financial stresses, over-indebtedness etc that plaques South Africans. FinMark reports that an “estimated 10 million South Africans are over-indebted, with 37% of formal credit borrowers facing repayment issues” 2 ; (consumers are considered over-indebted is money available after payment of essential expenses is not enough to pay all other debts. R1 over and you’re over-indebted!). Janu-worry, inflation, rising food prices, we could all do with some relief.

How BNPL works is one gets to divide their purchase into 3 equal instalments, first payment at the till, take your purchases home on the spot. There’s also an option to pay over 12 months, depending on the value of the purchase. This is slightly reminiscent of the lay-buy option shops used to have, whereby you could set aside an item, pay it off over a few months with interest, then pick it up once you’ve fulfilled your payment obligation. BNPL flips this on its head – now you can pay a portion of the total price AND take you purchase home on the spot, interest free. Assuming you keep up with your payments. With lay-buy or any store account, one gets to build a credit history – timely payments = contributions towards healthy credit score.

The “olden days” of saving up for purchase are effectively gone, at least for those that choose to utilise this service. I suppose what else would make this plan attractive is that it sits outside of the typical credit arrangements characterised by full affordability checks and high interest rates. The buy now pay later service does not attract any interest, unless the user defaults on payments – how much interest? It’s all in the fine print. The solution is not necessarily categorised as regular credit, which means it falls outside of the ambit of the National Credit Regulator (NCR). The typical requirements i.e credit checks do not apply – the merchant doesn’t conduct the full credit and affordability checks upfront to ensure that a consumer qualifies for the service. There are some safeguards within the solution which will prohibit consumers from stacking payments in perpetuity, once the limit has been reached, one cannot add more. But once the “debt” has been brought down…the cycle can begin, this is how a debt/poverty cycle perpetuates. At the point of sale, whether in a physical store or online, a consumer’s bank balance is not relevant – as long as one has a third of the amount, you’re good to go. The psychological effect is huge! With this I imagine I could take as much as I can/want and pay later. This goes for groceries too. Is this a financial empowerment tool or something else in disguise?

So now I wonder – who is this service made for? The merchant is pushing sales, the customer wants *insert item name* on the spot. Instant gratification. But then at the end of the day, one would have still accrued a “debt”. Financially stretched (FO) young and old adults may choose to opt into this service for the convenience it provides. Maybe not even in a FO position, one can use this tool to manage their cashflow.

Use responsibly.

At the end of the day, one needs to critically assess their current financial status, financial goals, affordability over time. Be disciplined in what you choose to purchase using this option. This is still debt. At the end of the day, all free money isn’t free money. As with every good thing – use responsibly. Debt stacking is a thing. Keep a ledger, keep up with payments, avoid late or non- payment to avoid paying interest. Separate flexible payment options from 6 different shops add up. R200 here, R1,000 there, R800 elsewhere…the full cost is invisible at the time. If future you will still rely on the same income, make sure these future payments can be honoured. The question is not “is this good or bad?”. The questions should rather be “is this good for me right now?”.

SOURCES:

1 Shoprite introduces PayJustNow for flexible payment options

2 12 Million Adults Struggle with Debt While Relying on Credit to Cope – FinMark Trust