The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) model is growing with a very huge speed where Apps like Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm which are market leaders in BNPL sector have changed the people way of online & offline shopping offering flexible payment options to the users.
Creating a BNPL application has provided the users a great business opportunity that many users who are Fintech admirer have taken into consideration.
So, if you are also willing to enter the market of Buy Now Pay Later apps and would like to understand the cost of developing the BNPL app, let’s first understand the BNPL statistics to check and compare how rapidly the market is growing.
But how much does it cost to build a BNPL app ?
The cost of developing any application depends on the complexity, features, technology stack, location of developers, compliance, and post-launch support, same goes with BNPL application.
To provide an idea the approx. cost to develop a BNPL app ranges between:
| Basic MVP BNPL app | $20,000 – $40,000 |
| Mid-range BNPL app | $40,000 – $70,000 |
| Enterprise-level BNPL super app | $80,000 – $150,000+ |
BNPL provides a service which allows users to purchase services or goods without paying the fill amount at once, allowing them to convert the overall amount in easy monthly instalments based on their convenience.
To develop a similar platform, you need qualified developers, advanced tech stack and collaboration with financial experts such as SoftCurators.
The solutions available in the market, the cost depends and varies on several factors. Let’s give you a detailed breakdown.
What Factors Affect the Cost of a BNPL App Development.
The cost can range widely depending on many factors.
Factor 1: Project Complexity
As explained above, the scope and complexity of the project defines the cost of development. More the complexity of the project, more it requires the planning, team size and timeline. It can be defined by the number of factors including the integrations of Fintech Application.
- Simple app: A Simple application may include the basic features like:
- Wallet
- Payment gateway
- BNPL option
- Advanced app: To add to it, the advances app may include :
- AI-driven credit scoring
- fraud detection
- partnerships
- loyalty rewards and more.
Factor 2: Feature Set
The more features covered in the application, the higher the timeline and in turn the cost. We would like to mention the must have BNPL features include:
- Registration & onboarding
- User credit limit management
- Payment scheduling
- Merchant integrations
- EMI calculators
- Notifications & reminders
- Fraud prevention systems
However, adding advanced features increases the cost significantly.
Factor 3: Development Team Location
The cost to develop the BNPL app depends on the location of the development team as the rates vary around the world, with team in North America typically asking higher rates than those in Eastern Europe, Asia or Latin America.
Rates vary significantly:
| US & Europe developers | $80 – $150/hr |
| Eastern Europe | $40 – $80/hr |
| Asia (India, Vietnam) | $15 – $30/hr |
Factor 4: Technology Stack
Various tech stack have different costs along with licensing fees, development charges and the app maintenance. Its always necessary that the technology stack chosen should align with requirements and in future scalability requirement.
| Frontend | React Native, Flutter |
| Backend | Node.js, Java, Python |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MongoDB |
| Security | Blockchain, AES-256 encryption |
Choosing a cutting edge but efficient technology may reduce the long term costs of the application.
Factor 5: Development Methodology
The development method which has been chosen may impact both the cost and the time of the BNPL app.
- Agile development helps reduce rework and saves costs as it involves iterative development and feedbacks.
- Waterfall methodology may increase costs due to rigidity.
Factor 6: Security and Compliance
Secure and compliant with relevant regulations is non-negotiable in the FinTech apps:
- PCI DSS (Payment security)
- GDPR / CCPA (Data privacy)
- KYC & AML compliance (Financial regulations)
You might this that these security measures adds the cost to overall app development but these cost are very essential as they protects the user data and remove any legal issues.
Factor 7: User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design
User interface and user experience are very crucial for the success of any Buy Now Pay Later app.
High-quality UI/UX designs enhances the user involvement along with satisfaction and higher adoption rates in turn adding a bit to the cost of building a BNPL app.
- A minimal, intuitive UI lowers churn.
- Advanced personalized dashboards and animations increase design cost.
Also Read: How to develop Fintech application Guide
Factor 8: Third-Party Integrations
Third party Integration are very significant part of a BNPL Application but can increase the development cost a bit. These integrations might include :
- Payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal or Razorpay
- Credit scoring APIs
- SMS/email notification APIs
- Cloud hosting services & more
Each third party integration comes with a additional cost to the development.
Factor 9: Maintenance and Support
In order to make sure that the application is working fine, securely and is up to date the another big factor is the maintenance and support cost for the application. This includes :
Post-launch expenses include:
- Bug fixes & updates
- Server scaling
- Security patches
Expect 5–15% of annual development cost as maintenance.
Giving a deeper insights by explaining these factors to you what affects the cost of developing the Buy Now Pay Later app directly or indirectly.
Best Practices to Manage BNPL App Development Cost
By the above mentioned factors, you must now have an idea where and how you are investing your money while developing the BNPL app. The cost of building an BNPL app doesn’t have to break the bank if planned very well and followed by best practices.
Follow these practices to optimize cost:
1. Prioritizing the Features
Start with core BNPL features (registration, credit, repayment). Add advanced features later.
Its always suggested that combining the right features together is important while developing a BNPL application. Many features in the application are used again and again by the users while rest are just there for user convenience.
Always, check all the features and categorize them based on the priritoy list like Necessary, Good if it’s there and the least priority. You can also check and divide the features in phases like initial phase or launch phase and what can be added in later updates.
2. Use Open-Source Technologies
Technologies that are open to use for everyone without any additional fees or licence are known as Open Source. The developer you choose must use as many open source technologies as possible which eliminates the future risks and saving the money as well. Frameworks like React Native, Flutter, Node.js etc. reduces the overall costs.
3. Opt for Agile Development
Agile development breaks the project in small sprints which allows easy management of the project along with continues feedback. Iterative development allows cost control and faster time to launch the platform in the market.
4. Outsource the Development
The cost of the development increase significantly when you hire the resources in house or on-board them.
In order to develop the BNPL application ensuring the lower cost or saving the money, hiring offshore developers like India or Southeast Asia is the best practice which might reduce costs by up to 60%.
But always ensure that the quality of the final product is not compromised by selecting reputable outsourcing partners only.
5. Use Cloud Services
The old and traditional ways, which have very limited resources and in turn are costly, cloud based services & systems are best option to opt in saving the cost associated with physical servers and IT infrastructure.AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure cut infrastructure costs while offering scalability.
6. Pre-built Components
Building the complete application from scratch is always costly as it takes more time to create everything from based. So in order to avoid this, always go for pre-built components, SDKs, and APIs which helps adding any features, functionality more quickly and cost effectively reducing overall timeline.
7. Invest in Quality Assurance Early
Testing a application is always important and crucial while development and even after the development. So its better to save time and cost by following the practice of early and continuous testing.
Early testing ensures that the issues are captured at an early stage and promptly resolved saving the overall time. It reduces any extra unnecessary hours spend on fining the issues and solving them at later stages.
These practise, effectively minimize the overall development cost concluding to a high quality product meeting the user needs and demands.
Buy Now Pay Later Apps Monetization Strategies
BNPL apps can generate multiple revenue streams. For many thinking to start this, BNPL seems like costly investment business to start but they do not realize that it is a great way to earn money. In order to make the most out of the BNPL app, your development team must implement monetization strategies for you.
1] Merchant Fees
For each transaction that happens on the platform the BNPL app charges a certain percent or amount of fees from the merchants to use their services. Merhants agrees to pay this as the BNPL option increases their overall profit by increasing their sales and new customers. The standard fees ranges from 2 to 5% of each transctions.
2] Consumer Fees
Many BNPL platform charges consumer for using their service. Although, BNPL apps market themselves as interest free but they might charge customers for any special feature or service like Late fees or Interest fees.
3] Affiliate Marketing
For many retailers or brand the BNPL apps can work a partner for promoting their services, products or goods in a way where the BNPL apps earn a commissions on every order or sale that they generate through the platform and the commission may be between 1% to 10% of each sale.
4] Data Monetization
These app collects a variety of data from the users using the BNPL apps like users spending habits, credit score, preferences etc. and this data can be sold to many third parties who can use the data in marketing, financial learning, researches etc.
5] Subscription Models
Some of the BNPL Apps allows a mode of subscription for Consumers and merchants where they pay a monthly, annual or one time fee to access the advances additional features that are available on the platform. Subscription fees may range anywhere between $10 to $100 per month.
7] Cross-Selling Financial Products
Upsell credit cards, loans, or insurance through BNPL platforms.
8] Partnership and Sponsorship Deals
BNPL Apps collaborates with e-commerce and retail brands where they can make agreements for marketing campaigns, promotions and offers for Buy Now Pay Later app users. Deals ranging from $10,000 to $100,000
9] Licensing Technology
Buy Now Pay Later Apps provide BNPL API/SDK to other fintech firms which are looking to incorporate solutions into their offers and services. Typically a Licensing Fees can be anywhere between $50,000 to $500,000 per license.
These strategies implementation requires proper features and functionalities as these are the best way to monetize your BNPL application and earn huge profits.
SoftCurators : Your Partner in App Solutions
At SoftCurators, the main goal is to understand our client requirements and provide them with the best solution following the best practise. Our experiences team of developing apps from scratch to up which are are secure, scalable and future-ready.
We help you with:
- End-to-end BNPL app development
- Regulatory compliance across geographies
- Custom features tailored for merchants and users
- Cost-effective offshore development
- Expertise in AI, blockchain, and payments
With SoftCurators, you don’t just get an app—you get a complete fintech ecosystem.
Conclusion
As you are aware that the BNPL app model is changing the retail and e-commerce industry by making the flexible payments accessible to millions of users.
The first step towards the best development cost is to make sure that you hire an expert who understands your vision and helps you with a significant planning, compliance and investment and suggesting the ROI potentia.
By carefully managing features, technology, and partnerships, businesses can launch BNPL apps cost-effectively.
With SoftCurators as your fintech development partner, you can develop a secure, scalable and profitable BNPL solution ready for your target market.
FAQs
- What is the cost to develop a BNPL app?
- In order to develop a BNPL App the cost ranges between $20,000 – $200,000+, depending on features and scale.
- How long does it take to develop a BNPL app?
- The timeline for a BNPL app can vary from
- MVP: 2 – 6 months
- Full-feature app: 6 – 12 months
- The timeline for a BNPL app can vary from
- What are the key features of a BNPL app?
- The key features of BNPL apps includes User onboarding, credit scoring, payments, merchant integration, notifications, fraud prevention etc.
- How can I minimize the cost of developing a BNPL app?
- You can minimize the overall development cost by choosing the right development partner and outsourcing the development to them. Also, prioritizing features divided in phases and by using the pre-built APIs.
- What are the monetization strategies for BNPL apps?
- The Monetization strategies for BNPL apps may include adding the Merchant fees, late fees from customers, subscriptions fees from brands, affiliate marketing and cross-selling.
- What factors affect the cost of developing a BNPL app?
- Factors affecting the cost includes the Complexity, features, team location, compliance and security.
- Can I integrate my BNPL app with existing payment gateways?
- BNPL provides an option to integrate with the existing payment gateways like Stripe, Razorpay, PayPal or custom gateways.
- What are the security considerations for BNPL apps?
- Security considerations includes End-to-end encryption, Biometric authentication, Fraud detection, PCI DSS,AML, KYC compliance.