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The short answer
Yes, it can. Buy now pay later is now regulated as credit in Australia, so applying for it and how you repay it can appear on your credit report like other credit. Paying every instalment on time does no harm and may help; missed payments, defaults and a pile of applications can lower your score.
Buy now pay later (BNPL) is everywhere in Australia: at the checkout of clothing shops, online at electronics stores, even for dental bills. For a Nigerian who has just arrived and has no credit card, it can look like the easy way to spread a cost. The question is what it does to the credit file you are trying to build. The short answer is that BNPL is no longer outside the credit system. It is regulated as credit, so you should treat every BNPL account as a small loan that a future car or home lender may see.
What changed: BNPL is now treated as credit
For years BNPL in Australia sat outside the main consumer credit rules, because most products charged no interest. That is no longer the position. BNPL is now regulated as a form of credit, which brings it closer to the way cards and personal loans are treated, and ASIC's Moneysmart service is the place to check the current rules providers must follow.
Two practical consequences follow. First, signing up is a credit application, not just creating a shopping account. Second, how you run the account can be recorded on your credit report, in the same way as a card or personal loan. The detail of what each provider checks and reports is set out in its own credit guide and terms; read them before you sign up, because providers do not all work the same way.
How BNPL can show on your credit report
ASIC's Moneysmart service sets out what a credit report holds. Each of these can involve a BNPL account:
| Report item | What Moneysmart says | How BNPL can feature |
|---|---|---|
| Credit applications | Applications are listed on your report | Signing up with a provider can be recorded as an application |
| Credit products | Products held in the last two years | An open BNPL account can appear as a credit product |
| Repayment history | Last two years; a payment counts as missed if not paid within 14 days of the due date | Late instalments can be reported as missed payments |
| Defaults | Unpaid debts listed for five years, seven for a clearout | An unpaid BNPL balance passed to collections can become a default |
| Hardship arrangements | Shown only for the months in place, removed after 12 months, do not affect your score | If you agree a hardship plan with a provider, it is treated this way |
Moneysmart lists the amount you borrow, the number of applications you make and whether you pay on time among the things that move your score. Scores run from 0 to 1,000 or 0 to 1,200 depending on the credit reporting body. For a new migrant with a thin file, a single default or a cluster of applications weighs more heavily, because there is little else on the report to balance it.
Can BNPL help build a credit history?
Possibly, but it is a weak tool for the job. If a provider reports positive repayment history, on-time payments add to the record. But each account also adds an application and a limit, and several small BNPL accounts can make a lender wonder whether you rely on short-term credit. A single everyday bank account with regular salary, a phone plan paid on time and, later, one modest credit product usually give a cleaner picture. Our guide to building credit history as a new migrant sets out the order most people follow.
Using BNPL without damaging your file
- Use one provider, not several. Every new provider is another application.
- Link it to the account your salary lands in and set the instalments to come out a day or two after payday. A new-arrival bank account can be opened early; Commonwealth Bank, for example, says it allows this up to 14 days before arrival.
- Pay before the due date. Late fees are the provider's own; the bigger cost is a missed payment on your report if it runs past 14 days.
- If you cannot pay, contact the provider early and ask about hardship. A hardship arrangement does not affect your score, according to Moneysmart.
- Check your report. Moneysmart says you can get it free every three months, and errors can be fixed free; see how to check your credit report.
- Close accounts you no longer use, so unused limits do not count against you when you apply for a car or home loan.
BNPL back home in Nigeria
Many Nigerians in Australia also see pay-later offers on Nigerian sites and apps, or are asked by family to help with them. The Nigerian credit bureau system is separate from Australia's, and nothing there appears on your Australian file. Our Nigeria library explains how Nigerian credit bureaus work if you are also keeping a record at home.
Where Pryme fits
Pryme does not offer BNPL in Australia. If you support family in Nigeria, Loans on Spaces is a separate, naira-only product for accounts in Nigeria, piloted in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, lent by a licensed Nigerian microfinance bank and spendable only with merchants in Spaces. Any limit is offered based on how the account is run, and the full agreement is shown for the customer to accept before anything is drawn.
Questions people ask
Does Afterpay or Zip show on my credit report in Australia?
BNPL is now regulated as credit, so applications and repayment behaviour can appear on your report. What a particular provider checks and reports is in its own credit guide; read it, and check your free report to see what is actually listed.
Will one late BNPL payment hurt my credit score?
Moneysmart says a payment counts as missed when it is not paid within 14 days of the due date. Pay as soon as you can, and talk to the provider about hardship if you are struggling; hardship arrangements do not affect your score.
Is BNPL a good way to build credit as a new migrant?
It can add some positive history if the provider reports it, but each account is also an application. One modest product run carefully is usually better than several BNPL accounts.
Should I close BNPL accounts before applying for a mortgage?
Many people do. Lenders ask about all credit you hold, and closing unused accounts removes limits a lender might otherwise count against your borrowing.
Sources
- Moneysmart (ASIC): Credit scores and credit reports (updated 9 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Commonwealth Bank: Moving to Australia (updated 23 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.