China Buy Now Pay Later Business Report 2025: A $277.81 Billion Market by 2031 - Ant, JD, Meituan, and Tencent-Linked Credit via WeChat Pay Lead, While Licensed Lenders Drive Co-Lending Momentum

Key opportunities in China's BNPL market stem from super-app integration, expanding into services, and regulated finance structures. Growth in lower-tier cities, demand for digital credit access, and strategic partnerships will drive further adoption in diverse sectors, amid evolving regulatory landscapes.

Dublin, Jan. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "China Buy Now Pay Later Business and Investment Opportunities Databook - 90+ KPIs on BNPL Market Size, End-Use Sectors, Market Share, Product Analysis, Business Model, Demographics - Q1 2026 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The BNPL payment market in China is expected to grow by 15.1% on annual basis to reach US$164.97 billion in 2026. The buy now pay later market in the country has experienced robust growth during 2022-2025, achieving a CAGR of 21.9%. This upward trajectory is expected to continue, with the market forecast to grow at a CAGR of 11.0% from 2026-2031. By the end of 2031, the BNPL sector is projected to expand from its 2025 value of USD 143.31 billion to approximately USD 277.81 billion.

This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) industry in China, covering market opportunities and risks across a range of retail categories. With over 90+ KPIs at the country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of BNPL market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.

Over the next 2-4 years, competition will centre on access to consumer-finance licences, funding costs, and the ability to integrate instalments into high-frequency service ecosystems. Platform players will retain advantage, but banks and licensed consumer-finance units will strengthen participation through co-lending and deeper payment-platform integration.

Current State of the Market

China's BNPL landscape is anchored in platform-embedded credit rather than stand-alone BNPL providers. Alipay's Huabei, JD Baitiao and Meituan Monthly Pay operate as integrated instalment features within super-apps and ecommerce ecosystems. Banks distribute instalment credit primarily through credit card channels, but their role at checkout is secondary to that of platform-embedded products.

Competition has intensified as platforms restructure credit operations to align with evolving consumer-finance rules, while banks and licensed consumer-finance units seek stronger integration with payment ecosystems. The market is therefore shaped by ecosystem scale, regulatory alignment, and the ability to manage unsecured credit risk.

Key Players and New Entrants

Key incumbents include Ant Group (Huabei), JD Technology (JD Baitiao and its licensed consumer-finance arm), Meituan (Monthly Pay), and Tencent-linked credit solutions distributed through WeChat Pay. New competitive momentum is emerging from licensed consumer-finance companies, including units backed by state-owned banks and regional lenders that increasingly partner with platforms for co-lending.

The acquisition of Home Credit China by JD in 2025 positions JD as a more vertically integrated competitor, with access to national consumer-finance licensing and funding capabilities. ByteDance and Baidu continue to operate instalment-linked lending but are expanding cautiously under stricter rules.

Key Trends and Drivers

Super-app BNPL becomes the primary entry point into consumer credit

• BNPL-style lines embedded in super-apps (Alipay's Huabei, JD Baitiao, Meituan Monthly Pay, etc.) have become a core way for Chinese consumers to access short-term credit, often before they hold a credit card. Recent analysis of Huabei shows it operates as a BNPL function within Alipay, allowing users to split payments over time across e-commerce, offline retail and everyday spend.
• A 2025 feature on China's consumer credit market notes that more than 80% of new Huabei users in 2024 had never held a credit card, indicating that super-app credit is often the first formal borrowing product for younger, underbanked consumers. High penetration of Alipay, WeChat Pay and platform ecosystems (Taobao/Tmall, JD, Meituan) gives BNPL-style credit instant reach at checkout, online and offline.

Regulatory tightening pushes BNPL into licensed consumer-finance structures

• China has raised capital and governance requirements for consumer finance companies and non-bank financial institutions, forcing online credit providers linked to BNPL products into more formal, licensed structures. In 2025, JD.com acquired Home Credit's China unit and thereby obtained a nationwide consumer finance licence, signalling a strategic shift by large platforms toward regulated balance-sheet lending alongside existing products such as JD Baitiao.
• BNPL activity is likely to concentrate in entities with consumer-finance licences, joint ventures between big tech and financial institutions, and large banks, accelerating consolidation and limiting the growth of small, independent BNPL start-ups. Compliance, capital and data-governance costs will rise, which should improve consumer protection but may increase pressure on margins and reduce promotional subsidies.

Policy-driven revival of online lending leads to cautious BNPL growth with tighter risk controls

• After several years of regulatory pressure on internet-platform lending, Chinese authorities are now encouraging an expansion of consumer credit to support domestic demand, and platforms are cautiously reviving lending operations. A 2025 Reuters analysis notes that firms such as Ant Group, ByteDance, Meituan and Baidu are planning renewed growth in online lending as regulators signal a more stable policy environment. However, non-performing consumer loans have been rising.
• Platforms see renewed lending, including BNPL, as a route to monetise user data and ecosystem traffic, but are proceeding more cautiously given the experience of the earlier regulatory crackdown.
• BNPL volumes are likely to grow in line with broader online consumer lending. Still, providers will emphasise portfolio quality, loss provisioning and regulator-aligned product design (for example, clearer cost disclosure and caps on effective interest rates). Default trends will be closely watched; if delinquencies rise meaningfully, regulators may again tighten rules on marketing, repeat use, and credit line management for BNPL products.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute	Details
No. of Pages	101
Forecast Period	2026 - 2031
Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2026	$164.97 Billion
Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2031	$277.81 Billion
Compound Annual Growth Rate	11.0%
Regions Covered	China

Report Scope

China Buy Now Pay Later Companies

• Huabei
• JD Baitiao
• WeChat Fenqi
• Suning Finance (Suning Jiebei)
• Tencent Licaitong
• LexinFintech (Fengile)

China Retail Industry & Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast

• Retail Industry - Spend Value Trend Analysis
• Buy Now Pay Later Share of Retail Industry
• Ecommerce - Spend Value Trend Analysis
• Buy Now Pay Later Share of Ecommerce

China Buy Now Pay Later Market Size and Industry Attractiveness

• Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
• Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Market Share Analysis by Key Players

China Buy Now Pay Later Revenue Analysis

• Buy Now Pay Later Revenues
• Buy Now Pay Later Share by Revenue Segments
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Merchant Commission
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Missed Payment Fee Revenue
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Pay Now & Other Income

China Buy Now Pay Later Operational KPIs

• Buy Now Pay Later Active Consumer Base
• Buy Now Pay Later Bad Debt

China Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Business Model

• Two-Party Business Model
• Third-Party Business Model

China Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Purpose

• Convenience
• Credit

China Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Merchant Ecosystem

• Open Loop System
• Closed Loop System

China Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Distribution Model

• Standalone
• Banks & Payment Service Providers
• Marketplaces

China Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Channel

• Online Channel
• POS Channel

China Buy Now Pay Later By End-Use Sector: Market Size and Forecast

• Retail Shopping
• Home Improvement
• Travel
• Media and Entertainment
• Services
• Automotive
• Health Care REIT and Wellness
• Others

China Buy Now Pay Later By Retail Product Category: Market Size and Forecast

• Apparel, Footwear & Accessories
• Consumer Electronics
• Toys, Kids, and Babies
• Jewelry
• Sporting Goods
• Entertainment & Gaming
• Other

China Buy Now Pay Later Analysis by Consumer Attitude and Behaviour

• Spend Share by Age Group
• Spend Share by Default Rate by Age Group
• Spend Share by Income
• Gross Merchandise Value Share by Gender
• Adoption Rationale
• Spend by Monthly Expense Segments
• Average Number of Transactions per User Annually
• BNPL Users as a Percentage of Total Adult Population

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5obuh0

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• Chinese Buy Now Pay Later Market

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