Buy now, panic later

Today, more than war and death, younger generations are afraid of debt.

It’s one reason “Buy Now, Pay Later” platforms do ~$100B in sales and are growing at a 40% clip. “BNPL” is a friendly jingle, and the youths have taken the bait.

Unfortunately, data shows they’re struggling with the “pay later” part:

• In the U.S., 50%+ of Gen Zers and millennials say they’ve missed at least 1 BNPL payment.
• ~8% of the UK’s BNPL Gen Zers have been contacted by debt collectors.

Fortunately, regulators are catching on, and bureaus are now starting to follow BNPL activity on credit reports.