In this guide · 7 sections
Short answer
The simplest route is a payment gateway that already offers BNPL. As of October 2026, HitPay lists Atome and Paylater by Grab at 5.5% per online transaction, about double a domestic card fee. It is usually worth it only for higher-value baskets where instalments help people buy.
How buy now pay later works for a merchant
The customer chooses BNPL at checkout, is approved by the provider in their app, and pays the first instalment. The provider pays you the order value minus its fee, and collects the remaining instalments from the customer. If the customer pays late, that is the provider's problem, not yours.
On Atome's shopper help pages, Pay-in-3 has no processing fee for the shopper, Pay-in-6 has a one-time 3% fee and Pay-in-9 or Pay-in-12 a monthly fee of 0.75% of the purchase value. Your customer sees those terms in the app; your cost is the merchant fee.
Pros
- Can lift conversion on bigger baskets (furniture, electronics, beauty packages)
- You are paid upfront; the provider carries the repayment risk
- Gives you a listing inside the provider's app directory
- Shoppers who prefer not to use credit cards get another option
Cons
- Roughly double the fee of a local card payment
- Little benefit on small, low-value orders
- Another dashboard to reconcile, plus refunds to manage
- Shoppers can still overspend; promote it responsibly
What BNPL costs merchants in Singapore
Atome's merchant page asks businesses to get in touch rather than listing a rate, so direct pricing is by quote. The clearest published numbers come from gateways that resell BNPL. As of October 2026, HitPay's Singapore pricing lists these online rates:
| Method | Online fee via HitPay | Fee on a S$600 order |
|---|---|---|
| Atome | 5.5% | S$33.00 |
| Paylater by Grab | 5.5% | S$33.00 |
| ShopeePay Later | 5% | S$30.00 |
| ShopBack | 3.9% + S$0.20 | S$23.60 |
| Domestic cards | 2.8% + S$0.50 | S$17.30 |
| PayNow (S$100 and above) | 0.65% + S$0.30 | S$4.20 |
So on a S$600 sofa or skincare package, BNPL costs about S$15.70 more than a local card and almost S$29 more than PayNow. Whether that is worth it depends on how many extra orders instalments bring in. Compare all your options in our payment gateway comparison.
The BNPL Code of Conduct and MAS: what merchants should know
Singapore does not license BNPL in the same way as banks. Instead, providers follow an industry BNPL Code of Conduct administered by the Singapore FinTech Association, published in November 2022 and expected of all providers from 1 November 2023. MAS said in a 2025 parliamentary reply that the Code was developed under its guidance.
- BNPL is only offered to customers aged 18 and over.
- Until further credit checks, a customer can have no more than S$2,000 outstanding with each provider.
- All fees, including late fees, must be capped and clearly disclosed; interest and fees must not compound.
- Users who miss repayments are suspended.
- Accredited providers' advertising must be clear and not misleading, disclose fees and not imply BNPL is risk-free.
Most of the Code binds the provider, not you. But your own marketing still falls under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. Show the full price, describe instalments accurately ("3 payments of S$200"), and do not suggest instalments are free of all charges if longer plans carry fees.
How to add Atome or BNPL to Shopify or WooCommerce
There are two routes. Either sign a direct contract with the BNPL provider and install its plugin, or use a payment gateway that bundles several BNPL methods under one account.
Check your average order value
Pull the last three months of orders. If most baskets are under about S$80, BNPL is unlikely to change much.
Choose direct or via a gateway
A gateway such as HitPay offers Atome, Paylater by Grab and others under one account and one payout; confirm each method is supported in its Shopify or WooCommerce plugin. A direct Atome contract may get a negotiated rate at higher volumes.
Install the plugin and enable the methods
For Shopify, install the gateway's Shopify payment app and switch on the BNPL methods in its dashboard. WooCommerce works the same way through the gateway's plugin.
Add instalment messaging carefully
Show a short line on product pages, such as from S$200 x 3 with Atome, using the provider's approved wording.
Test a full order and a refund
Place a real low-value order, refund it, and check the payout and refund both reach your accounting software correctly.
If you are on Shopify Payments, compare the total cost of adding a third-party gateway first. Our Shopify Payments vs HitPay guide explains the trade-offs.
Refunds, returns and disputes with BNPL
Refunds go back through the BNPL provider, not to the customer's bank. You issue the refund from your store or gateway as usual, and the provider adjusts the customer's instalments. Atome's help centre says partial refunds are subject to each merchant's own policy, and refunds appear in the customer's Atome app under Bills.
Write your return and refund policy so it says how BNPL refunds are handled and how long they take to show. Our refund policy guide has wording that works for card, PayNow and BNPL payments.
Do it yourself or get help?
If you already use a gateway that offers BNPL, switching it on takes minutes. The work is in the numbers: checking your order values, adding honest instalment messaging and testing refunds.
Before you switch on BNPL
Our Online Payment Setup (S$290) sets up Stripe or HitPay in your name with PayNow, cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and we can switch on BNPL methods where the gateway offers them. For a new store, the Shopify Store package (S$1,890) includes payments set up from day one.
Frequently asked questions
Atome does not publish a direct merchant rate on its website; businesses are asked to contact its sales team for a quote. Through the HitPay gateway, Atome is listed at 5.5% per online transaction as of October 2026. Direct contracts at higher volumes may be priced differently, so ask for the rate and refund terms in writing.
Generally no. The BNPL provider pays the merchant upfront minus its fee and collects the instalments from the customer. Under the industry BNPL Code of Conduct, providers suspend users who miss repayments. Check your merchant agreement, though, for any clawback terms in cases of fraud or chargebacks.
BNPL firms in Singapore follow an industry-led BNPL Code of Conduct administered by the Singapore FinTech Association, which MAS says was developed under its guidance. It sets an S$2,000 outstanding limit for new users per provider, requires capped and disclosed fees, bans compounding and limits BNPL to customers aged 18 and over.
Yes, usually through a payment gateway that offers Atome and has a Shopify integration (HitPay lists both), or through a direct arrangement with Atome, which says it supports major e-commerce platforms and payment gateways. Test a full order and refund after setting it up, and check how payouts appear in your accounting software.
It depends on your basket size. BNPL costs roughly double a local card payment, so it tends to pay off for higher-value items such as furniture, electronics or beauty packages, where instalments help people commit. For small, low-value orders, the extra fee usually outweighs any increase in sales.