Protect Borrowers released a new investigation into the growing Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market. As financial desperation grows, working families are having to turn to BNPL loans laden with junk fees to pay for persistently expensive necessities.
The report is one of the most sweeping analyses of the growing BNPL market to date and sheds light on how BNPL products are proliferating and evolving quickly across the economy, capitalizing on the growing financial desperation among working families. The investigation builds upon research showing that nearly half of Americans have taken out a BNPL loan, and roughly half of users have been late on a BNPL payment in the last year, exposing them to expensive junk fees that can trap them in debt.
Alongside the investigation, Protect Borrowers and Data for Progress released a groundbreaking poll on the experiences of American voters with BNPL products. The poll confirms many of the investigation’s findings on the growing use of these products, with nearly 4 in 10 respondents—and nearly 6 in 10 respondents under 45—reporting using BNPL products. A significant share of BNPL users report using the services to pay for everyday essentials like groceries, utilities, and housing. Whether or not they use BNPL themselves, a supermajority of voters across party lines supports policy action to rein in these predatory products.
Read the Report: A Loan in Every Cart: How BNPL Lenders Take Advantage of Americans’ Financial Desperation and the Case for a BNPL Borrower Bill of Rights
Read the Press Release: Widespread Financial Desperation Pushing Americans to Lean on Fee-Laden Buy Now, Pay Later Loans to Make Ends Meet, New Protect Borrowers Investigation Shows
Read the Substack/Blog: How Buy Now, Pay Later Lenders are Racing to Put “A Loan in Every Cart”
View Protect Borrowers and Data for Progress’s BNPL Poll: Supermajority of Voters Supports Government Action to Rein in Predatory BNPL Industry
View the Poll Results Among BNPL Users Here.