Flexible Payments for the Care Industry: Installment Payment vs BNPL

January 22, 2026

Overview: The Care Economy

The “Care Economy” is inclusive of healthcare, childcare, and elderly care, services which you will rarely find essential, until you need it. Yet, in Southeast Asia, a widening gap is emerging between the cost of quality care and the immediate financial liquidity of caretakers.

According to Aon’s 2026 Global Medical Trend Rates Report, medical costs across APAC are expected to surge by over 11% in 2026. While caretakers want the best for their children and aging parents, the high upfront lump sums often force them to delay treatment or downgrade their care options.

For care providers and businesses, lowering prices is not an option due to increasing overheads, hence the answer lies in providing financial flexibility to your customers, without impacting your bottom line.

Why High Upfront Costs Are a Challenge for Care Providers

Whether it’s the quarterly preschool fees, an elective surgery, or an unexpected prescription, care services often equate to high upfront costs.
These are some examples of dilemmas commonly faced by caretakers:

Care Service	Example Scenario
Childcare	Parents face "fees vs. groceries" decisions when quarterly terms coincide with other bills.
Healthcare	Adult children splitting bills for aging parents often struggle with large, unpredictable lump sums.
Elderly Care	Patients often reject necessary procedures not because they are "too expensive" in total, but because the immediate cash outflow is unmanageable.

This friction in financial flexibility leads to delayed decisions and, ultimately, lost revenue for care service providers.

The Solution: Flexible Payment Plans to Bridge the Gap

By offering Installment Payment (EPP) and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), you can ease your customers’ financial burden without lowering prices.

Both solutions allow your customers to split bigger tickets into manageable terms, with your business receiving the full payment upfront. Repayment risks are borne by the respective bank or provider.

Installment Payment (EPP) vs Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)

Features	Installment Payment (EPP)	Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
Eligibility	Open to respective bank’s credit card customers only.	Open to consumers who passed initial credit check.
Payment Flexibility	Typically up to 36 months, subject to respective banks.	Typically 3-12 months.
Credit Limit	Often linked to credit card limit.	Typically lower than EPP, depending on BNPL Provider.
Interests/Fees	Often 0%, subject to respective bank promotions.	Often 0%, with late payment fees.
Use Case	One-Off Tickets: Elective surgeries, annual care service packages.	Recurring/Mid-sized Tickets: Quarterly care fees, physiotherapy follow-ups, pharmacy prescriptions.
Integration for Merchants	Simple integration with 7 major banks via Fiuu.	Simple integration with 4 major providers via Fiuu.

Care service providers can enable both installment payments and BNPL through a single integration with payment service providers such as Fiuu.

Offer the Right Payment Plan for your Customers with Fiuu

For care service providers looking to offer flexible payment plans, a simple integration with Fiuu connects your business to 7 major banks and 4 major BNPL providers, from Atome, PayLater by Grab and more.

Fiuu is Southeast Asia’s leading payment service provider, connecting over 70,000 merchants from various industries including healthcare, F&B, and e- commerce, to the region’s preferred payment methods.

Drop us an email at [email protected] for your customized plan today or sign up as a merchant at https://booster.fiuu.com now.

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