The dark side of ‘buy now, pay later’

Some readers raised a concern about the hot new trend.  [Read from your browser]( Editor's Letter Dear {NAME} We’ve published two pieces on the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) trend in just as many weeks. [Our second one, which focuses on the Singapore scene]( and how Grab and Mastercard have joined the fray, has been popular with our readers. It’s curious why these stories are getting good traction - perhaps it has something to do with Affirm’s recent IPO? Anyway, some readers raised a concern about BNPL. While it relies less on late repayment fees compared with credit cards to make money, it still encourages over-consumption. This could be problematic for people with poor financial literacy. “The road to hell is sometimes paved with good intentions,” a reader noted. Let us know if you agree. Pivoting from fintech to entertainment, our story on [Singtel’s bold move to storm the gaming world]( has also been well-received. Most people hesitate to be candid about their employers in interviews, but Storms CEO David Yin isn’t one of them. One of the first things he told us was how he initially didn’t want to join Singtel’s new joint venture. “I don’t think Singtel’s track record has been great,” he said. My immediate thought was: “Are you sure you want this in print?” Of course, he did go on to say that Singtel is learning from its mistakes, and that Storms is the result of that. The Singaporean telco is taking an interesting approach, to say the least, and the article goes into detail about that. Recapping 2020 Last week, we held our first all-hands editorial meeting for the year. One of the things I did was to recap some of the great stories we’ve published as a way to remind ourselves why we’re doing what we do. It’s something I’ll be doing in my letter as well from time to time. A piece worth highlighting is this visualization and analysis of the [hidden alliances within Southeast Asia’s VCs.]( It reveals how venture capital investing is relationship-driven. Besides picking the right thesis, whom you’re investing with is another important consideration. - we’ve seen VCs exit a startup because they couldn’t get along with another VC. Since we published this article, the landscape has probably shifted - and we can’t wait to take another look at the data and present to you our findings. To support our work, [do consider subscribing]( to Tech in Asia. Cheers, Terence Lee Editor-in-Chief To ensure that you don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis, add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good coffee. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2021 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554