In Sweden, buying on invoice has long been an option in physical retail. However, since its introduction in e-commerce in the early 2000s, it has been an important tool to reduce the threshold for shopping online where it is more difficult for consumers to assess the delivery performance of shops and the risk of fraud. BNPL thus has a consumer security aspect as long as payment is made after the goods have been delivered. In addition, it is more accessible than credit cards, for example, as it does not require an application in advance or a certain minimum income. From the perspective of online traders, BNPL helps to reduce the number of abandoned shopping baskets and thus to increase sales.

BNPL is used to a greater extent in e-commerce in Sweden than globally. Currently, Sweden stands out with the highest share of BNPL payments in e-commerce in the world at around 24 per cent (see Diagram 3).

Figure 3. Share of BNPL payments in e-commerce in different countries Share of e-commerce payments made with BNPL, based on transaction value, per cent

There are various conceivable explanations for this. On the one hand there is a Swedish tradition of buying goods on invoice from physical retailers. On the other hand one of the largest BNPL players globally, Klarna, was founded in Sweden.^[7] This is especially true for larger purchases such as electronics.