Personal debt and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) - statistics & facts
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services allow users to make purchases without having to worry about their payment until a later date. However, despite the success of this emerging market, it has not been free of controversy. There has been concern about BNPL services facilitating the accumulation of debt, or even triggering a so-called ‘debt spiral’, where users’ commitments keep growing and are increasingly difficult to pay up. Some experts suggest that BNPL users evade the feeling of guilt that is often tied to buying something that they can not afford, since they do not have to pay it while making the purchase. Are these accusations well-founded? Do BNPL users have a higher delinquency rate than the average borrower of consumer loans?
