Yes, Buy Now Pay Later is a loan.

At Debbie, we’ve noticed BNPL becoming an increasing problem area for our users, with several reaching out asking for help.

33% of our users have BNPL transactions showing up on their linked accounts. In the last 3 months, users who used BNPL had an average of 8.5 BNPL payments per month, with average total monthly payments adding up to $282.

How does it work?

Typically, they are short-term loans that let you pay for a product/service in a few installments over a period of around six weeks.

To check the eligibility you will need to provide your name and Social Security number, so that the company can provide a (usually) light credit pull.

You will need to make a down payment on your product, which is typically 25% of the value, followed by remaining payments every 2 weeks.

Why is it interest-free?

If you repay your loan on time, it’s going to be interest free for you as a consumer. The transaction fee is covered by the retailer who has to pay around 4% to the financial institution.

What happens when you miss a payment?

• Afterpay - charges a flat fee of $8 about 10 days after you miss a payment
• Affirm - no fee but can affect your credit score
• Klarna - If your instalment is late, you will only be charged 1 late fee per late instalment, meaning the most you could be charged is $9. if they are unable to take a payment, they will try again, and then add missed payment to the amount of the next scheduled payment. Any unpaid debt will be sent to debt collection.

BNPL booming in the past months!

Comparing to last year’s data the number of transactions towards BNPL increased 8.5 times  and the dollar amount increased (shocking) 10 times!

If you have any personal stories related to Buy Now Pay Later that you wish to share, feel free to reach out to us at helpme@joindebbie.com!

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