The amount of people paying their BNPL loans late has gone up: report

NewsThe number of people who regret using such a loan for at least one payment has also gone up. (Money Knack via Unsplash)Money Knack via UnsplashBy Claudia Dimuro | cdimuro@pennlive.com“Buy now, pay later” (BNPL) options have been touted as an easy way for people to make purchases while slowly paying them off incrementally. But nearly half of Americans have admitted in a new report that they’ve missed a payment on one of these loans. Conducted and published by LendingTree, this report was based on the answers from an online survey of thousands of people nationwide commissioned by the company. Respondents were aged 18 to 80.The report found that 47 percent of these respondents admitted to missing a BNPL payment in 2026. This number is six percentage points higher than the year prior, and 13 percentage points higher than 2024. Over 70 percent claim that their most recent late payment was no more than about a week late, though. Another 38 percent of respondents maintain they’ve never been late on a loan payment at all. BNPL payment offerings appear to be growing in popularity, both with consumers and with businesses: PayPal recently revealed it intends to shift its focus on buy now, pay later services, and 45 percent of survey respondents informed LendingTree that they intend to apply for such a loan in the next six months, which is up one point from just July. As for why people are opting to leverage BNPL in their finances, 31 percent claim they’re easy to use; 27 percent say they’re easy to get. The majority of respondents state these loans are usually used for the purchase of clothes, shoes and accessories (39 percent). Still, 54 percent of respondents admit they’ve regretted using BNPL at least one time when making a purchased. This is also an increase in comparison to last year’s 48 percent.“As our survey showed, BNPL’s popularity has exploded in part because it’s easier to get than many other loan types,” the report reads. “However, that easy access also makes it dangerous.“Getting more than one loan at a time makes managing them more challenging, especially since most of these payments are tied to checking accounts. Having multiple loans means you have to be certain you’ll have enough money in your account to make payments on all those loans when they’re due, typically every two weeks.” AI ‘the most immediate concern’ to world financial system, watchdog saysState Farm customers, check your mail: There could be $100 in therePeople are overspending the most on cars in these 3 U.S. cities: reportClaudia covers trending and breaking news stories across the United States. She previously worked as a digital reporter for PennLive.com, where she covered a range of topics from metal music to consumer news to...