- Some 30 million Gen Zers are cutting up their credit cards and opting for buy now, pay later services to pay for their doom spending habits. And while it can bring flexibility, experts warn it could “trap” some shoppers in a cycle of overspending and impulsive splurging.
Young people’s love for procrastination is finally hitting a new phase: their finances.
Nearly two out of five Gen Zers are refusing to pay for their next luxury bag or McDonald’s delivery order in its entirety upon checkout—and instead opting to use buy now, pay later (BNPL) services to pay in weekly or monthly installments. And for the first time, these services are even overtaking the long-standing popularity of credit cards.
They’re finding BNPL a more flexible and simple way to stretch purchases across multiple paychecks, without accumulating high-interest debt.