With ZestMoney shutting down, many people have also written off BNPL.

I do not agree with people saying it was the product/use case that the market did not need. Here's why:

Last year, as part of theGrowthX®[GX8] assignment, I interviewed BNPL users. LazyPaywas my product.

I used to be a power user of LazyPay and Simpl until they stopped clearing bills via credit card. [I can not miss the opportunity of earning miles]

From the primary research and personal usage, I could see 3 ICPs emerging:
1. Value Seeker [Avail discounts]
2. Convenience Seeker [No OTP + No cluttered bank/credit card statement for smaller transactions]
3. Credit Seeker [Do not have credit card + enough cash-in-hand]
Hello, financial inclusion. :)

IMHO, BNPL would have not emerged if,
- users did not require OTP even for ₹150 transaction
- every online shopper had a credit card / opting for one was as easy as signing up via a mobile number

Discounts were always meant to make people comfortable with new modes of payment.

Back then it was a decent opportunity. Because I and many people continued to use it even after the discounts disappeared.
But like any other credit product, it relied on a decades-old foundation:

You make money when a certain number of people do not pay on time. But eventually pay with interest and/or late fees.

But what if,
- all of them do pay on time
- defaulters surpass beyond comfort level [because there is a reason, they did not have credit cards in the first place]

Am not sure if we can blame BNPL companies for crazy valuations. This is like you and I getting crazy salaries while we are not able to justify our work.
Don't we all love more money, even if notional?
And valuations are always future-looking. No?

Investors, founders, and users had their own set of hypotheses. Many of which were proven or disproven.
Yes, it may not be as big as everyone had thought of in the early days but let's not say, it's useless or dead. I think there is decent value to the BNPL story.

And am going to root for the teams building those products, even if am no longer their user. :)