‘BNPL a budgeting tool, not a splurge trigger’

“Buy now, pay later (BNPL) has become a practical cash-flow tool for consumers in Qatar rather than a prompt to overspend, PayLater chief executive Dr Devid Jegerson told *Gulf Times, adding that the Eid season has shaped the company’s product strategy around resilience and responsible growth. Both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha represent the peak moments when families spend most heavily in clothing, gifts, electronics, travel and the home, Jegerson noted, describing the two holidays as “the heartbeat of Qatar's retail calendar”. “That rhythm has shaped commerce here for generations, and what is new is the payment behaviour now layered on top of it,” he said in an exclusive interview. PayLater, Jegerson noted, prepares for these seasonal peaks by ensuring merchants are ready, systems are resilient and the checkout remains seamless when demand concentrates. He emphasised that volume alone is never the objective. “Seasonality tells us how to prepare; it is never a reason to relax the discipline that protects our customers,” the official said. Asked whether BNPL drives over-spending, Jegerson said that the product is designed for households that need to make a sensible purchase and then budget for it predictably over a few months. “Used responsibly, BNPL smooths consumption,” he stressed. He pointed to Eid preparations as an example of where this applies. People still need to prepare for the holiday, replace an appliance or buy a school uniform during uncertain times, Jegerson pointed out, adding that “what they need is a transparent way to manage the timing”. He said the breadth of categories where BNPL is gaining traction in Qatar supports that reading, noting that while electronics and fashion perform strongly, everyday essentials, including groceries and household retail also show healthy adoption. “That tells me something important: in Qatar, BNPL is not being used only for discretionary splurges,” he said. “It is being adopted as a practical, everyday budgeting tool by disciplined consumers managing their cash flow intelligently.” That spread across the whole basket, rather than a concentration in impulse categories, is the kind of adoption PayLater wants to see, Jegerson stated, describing it as evidence of a maturing, financially literate customer base. “The emphasis, always, is on that word 'responsibly',” he added. “The value is never in persuading people to spend beyond their means; it is in giving disciplined consumers a clear, fair tool to manage cash flow.”

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