Your Guide to Atome, the Gen Z-Approved Buy Now Pay Later Brand in the Philippines

The little yellow logo of Atome has been subtly making itself known among shoppers in the Philippines. If you’ve browsed Zalora or Rustan’s online, you might have seen the logo beside the checkout button. If you’ve window-shopped in malls, you might have noticed it at the counter or storefront.

Atome is the latest buy now pay later (BNPL) brand to gain ground in the Philippines, and it's vying to be the most popular. Originally from Singapore, Atome launched in the Philippines in late 2021 and has since grown its gross merchandise value (GMV) by 30 times and its retail network by eight times. Atome is now available in 1,500 online and offline retailers across the country such as Zara, Nike, SM Store, and more.

Its selling point: three months installments with zero interest, made possible by Atome’s business model, which charges merchants instead of shoppers. Atome is set to launch multi-tenure plans of six and twelve months, with interest, due to strong customer demand.

BNPL is gaining momentum in the Philippines, with HomeCredit, Credit, and BillEase among the most popular services in the Philippines. However, Atome aims to set itself apart by focusing on the purchasing power of Gen Zs and late millennials, as well as the retailers that appeal to them. Its BNPL approval process is also instant, eliminating waiting time. 

“Growing merchant sales by 30 times in our first year is a strong testament to BNPL’s value proposition, especially among younger, tech-savvy Gen Zs and millennials,” said Zine Nedil, general manager of Atome Philippines.

To avail Atome's installment plan, customers need to download the Atome app and register for an account. They can then click on the Atome checkout option on various online shops or use Atome in-store.

"As the Philippines emerges from the pandemic with dramatic changes in both consumer and retailer mindsets, we’re very excited to roll out new products such as the Atome Card and our multi-tenure products to broaden financial access and better address the needs of underbanked and underserved Filipinos," added Nedil. 

In Southeast Asia, Atome Philippines is one of the first to launch the Atome Card, a pre-approved line of Atome credit of up to P200,000. Over 120,000 registered for the Atome Card during its soft launch. While Atome’s BNPL is available to Philippine-based customers in Philippine stores, cross-regional BNPL transactions are not yet available. But this is where the Atome Card comes in: an entry-level credit card can be used in any Atome or Mastercard market. The Atome Card comes in three colors, blush pink, pearlescent silver, and midnight black—all of which are Gen Z-approved.

In the Philippines, Atome, which stands for “available to me,” also offers Atome+, an in-app rewards system, and Atome Cash, which provides quick loans via the app. Atome, pronounced “a-tow-me,” was founded in Singapore in 2019 and is part of the Advance Intelligence Group, a large AI-driven tech startup backed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus, Northstar, and more.

Statista currently ranks the Philippines third among the world’s leading countries based on retail e-commerce sales growth in 2022. Coinciding with the Philippines’ growing e-commerce market is the worldwide growth of BNPL systems, which has been identified as the fastest-growing online payment method globally, according to the Global Payments Report 2022. According to a survey by Filipino fintech Unacash, BNPL transaction volumes in e-commerce are expected to grow by 568 percent to $2.5 billion by 2026, while BNPL users are set to triple from 5.2 million in 2021 to 17.6 million bye 2026.