Definition
Postpaid (Pay Later by Wallet)
Wallet 'postpaid' or pay-later is a short-term credit line offered within a payments app that lets users spend now and settle the bill later, regulated as lending.
Several payment apps offer a postpaid / pay-later facility — a small credit line you can use across the app's merchants and pay back in a consolidated bill or instalments. The credit is provided by a partner bank or NBFC, not the app itself.
It is a form of BNPL and falls under RBI's digital lending norms: terms, interest and fees must be disclosed, and dues are reported to credit bureaus, so missed payments hurt your credit score.
Convenient for small spends, it should be treated as borrowing — overusing multiple pay-later lines can lead to debt build-up and late fees.
Related terms
- Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)Buy Now Pay Later is a short-term financing option at checkout that lets you receive goods immediately and pay later, either in one deferred payment or in instalments.
- Digital Lending GuidelinesRBI's Digital Lending Guidelines are rules that govern app- and platform-based lending in India to ensure transparency, fair practices and protection of borrowers' data.
- Credit ScoreA credit score is a three-digit number summarising your creditworthiness based on your borrowing and repayment history, used by lenders to decide on loans and interest rates.
Plain-English explainer from The Dispatch Investors Encyclopedia. General information, not financial advice.