Buy Now Pay Later

⚠️ Article status notice: This article has been marked as incomplete

This article needs additional work for its sourcing and verifiability to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues.

This notice will be removed once sufficient documentation has been added to establish the systemic nature of these issues. Once you believe the article is ready to have its notice removed, please visit the Moderator's noticeboard, or the discord and post to the #appeals channel.

Learn more ▼

This Article Requires Additional Verification

---

This article has been flagged due to verification concerns. While the topic might have merit, the claims presented lack citations that live up to our standards, or rely on sources that are questionable or unverifiable by our standards. Articles must meet the Moderator Guidelines and Mission statement; factual accuracy and systemic relevance are required for inclusion here!

Why This Article Is In Question

---

Articles in this wiki are required to:

• Provide verifiable & credible evidence to substantiate claims.
• Avoid relying on anecdotal, unsourced, or suspicious citations that lack legitimacy.
• Make sure that all claims are backed by reliable documentation or reporting from reputable sources.

Examples of issues that trigger this notice:

• A topic that heavily relies on forum posts, personal blogs, or other unverifiable sources.
• Unsupported claims with no evidence or citations to back them up.
• Citations to disreputable sources, like non-expert blogs or sites known for spreading misinformation.

How You Can Improve This Article

---

To address verification concerns:

• Replace or supplement weak citations with credible, verifiable sources.
• Make sure that claims are backed by reputable reporting or independent documentation.
• Provide additional evidence to demonstrate systemic relevance and factual accuracy. For example:
  • Avoid: Claims based entirely on personal anecdotes or hearsay without supporting documentation.
  • Include: Corporate policies, internal communications, receipts, repair logs, verifiable video evidence, or credible investigative reports.

If you believe this notice has been placed in error, or once the article has been updated to address these concerns, please visit the #appeals channel on our Discord server: Join here.

❗Article Status Notice: Inappropriate Tone/Word Usage

This article needs additional work to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. Specifically it uses wording throughout that is non-compliant with the Editorial guidelines of this wiki.

Learn more ▼

How You Can Help: If this is a non-Theme article (See: Article types):

• Persuasive language should not be used in the Wiki's voice. Avoid loaded words, or the causing of unnecessary offense, wherever possible.
• No direct attacks on named individuals or companies. Malice may be attributed to bad and proven offenders, but only through the use of quotation and citation - never in the Wiki's voice.

If this is a Theme article:

• Where argumentation is used make sure it is clear and direct but not inflammatory. Avoid strong language, or causing unnecessary offense.
• No direct attacks on named individuals or companies. Malice may be attributed to bad and proven offenders, in a formal and calm manner.

This notice will be removed once sufficient documentation has been added to establish the systemic nature of these issues. Once you believe the article is ready to have its notice removed, visit either the Moderator's noticeboard, or the Discord (join here) and post to the #appeals channel.

⚠️ Article status notice: This Article's Relevance Is Under Review

This article has been flagged for questionable relevance. Its connection to the systemic consumer protection issues outlined in the Mission statement and Moderator Guidelines isn't clear.

If you believe this notice has been placed in error, or once you have made the required improvements, please visit the Moderators' noticeboard or the #appeals channel on our Discord server: Join Here.

Notice: This Article's Relevance Is Under Review

---

To justify the relevance of this article:

• Provide evidence demonstrating how the issue reflects broader consumer exploitation (e.g., systemic patterns, recurring incidents, or related company policies).
• Link the problem to modern forms of consumer protection concerns, such as privacy violations, barriers to repair, or ownership rights.

If you believe this notice has been placed in error, or once you have made the required improvements, please visit either the Moderator's noticeboard, or the #appeals channel on our Discord server: Join Here.

BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) is a financing option being offered by more and more companies to increase sales. The practice consists of an interest-free payment plan where the customer pays in installment payments because they cannot currently afford the item they currently wish to purchase in full.

How it works

When purchasing an item, the customer is contractually obligated to make installment payments on the item being purchased without interest. Plans can be divided into equal parts in which the customer will pay until the item is completely paid off. Payment plan agreements can be quite flexible ranging from weekly, bi-weekly and even monthly depending on the agreement. Missing a payment can incur late fees (which do incur interest if you're unable to pay it), account fund freezes, or in worst case scenarios, being sent to a debt collector which can affect your credit score.

Why it is a problem

Much like credit cards, this provides consumers with a false mindset in which they start to spend more than they actually have. This is due to the first initial part of the payment being a fraction of the total cost. If the consumer is not keeping track of payment dates that are due (since each item being purchased may have separate agreements for when you have to pay), this can lead to a pile-on effect where the customer gets billed a bunch of late fees that they owe interest on because they were not able to pay the agreed upon amount. This can lead the consumer into financial ruin because they now owe the late fee (with interest if not paid immediately) plus the amount that was due. This increases the chances that the next payment owed will be late, leading the consumer into a debt cycle which can eventually lead to bankruptcy.

And even in an ideal scenario, when no interest or late fees are owed, the final price is still typically more expensive than the normal sale price. For example, a couch that sells for $300 could have a BNPL price of $30 a month. This might initially seem like a better deal, as you'll pay less money at a time, but the total cost of BNPL would be $360.

Examples

• Affirm to pay for your groceries.
• Afterpay to pay for gas.
• Klarna to pay for Doordash deliveries.
• Abunda to pay for clothes and household items.