Zepto set to enter buy now, pay later segment with 'Zepto Postpaid'

Flush with funds, quick commerce major Zepto is gearing up to launch its own buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering, Zepto Postpaid.

The programme, which is being teased on the Zepto app, is currently in its early stages. The company is nudging users to join a waitlist for exclusive early access to the service. Through Zepto Postpaid, the company is promising users “up to Rs 5,000 in interest-free repayments.”

Rival firms like Zomato-owned Blinkit already offer BNPL services to their customers through partnerships with players like LazyPay and Simpl.

Zepto has also partnered with BNPL firm Simpl since January 2022. As of April, Simpl witnessed over 13 million checkouts via the quick commerce major and is looking to increase this figure to 100 million by 2026.

In partnership with Simpl, Zepto was able to access Simpl’s one-tap checkout option, available to consumers using Zepto’s membership programme Pass.

The company recently raised $340 million in a follow-on financing round at a $5 billion valuation to strengthen its balance sheet as it gears up for an initial public offering (IPO). This came two months after the firm raised a massive $665 million in a Series F round, where it was valued at $3.6 billion.

Zepto, which is the only firm to exclusively focus on quick commerce, competes with the likes of Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Tata-owned BigBasket.

The Mumbai-based firm has been steadily increasing its market share in the quick commerce space. While Blinkit remains the market leader with a 40 per cent share, Zepto's market share has risen from 15 per cent in March 2022 to 22 per cent in January 2024, according to a recent report by HSBC Global.

Meanwhile, Instamart's share has fallen from 52 per cent in March 2022 to 32 per cent in January 2024, the report said.

As per its latest financials, Zepto’s revenue from operations increased 14-fold to Rs 2,024 crore in financial year 2022-23 (FY23) compared to Rs 140.7 crore in the previous year. Meanwhile, the Mumbai-based startup’s losses widened threefold to Rs 1,272 crore for the period, as against Rs 390.3 crore a year ago, according to filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.