A buy now, pay later (or BNPL) loan is a form of short-term financing that allows consumers to pay their bill incrementally over several weeks or even months, rather than all at once.
Unlike credit cards, BNPL plans typically don’t charge interest. And providers don’t run a hard credit check, so the loans are particularly attractive if you have bad credit or no credit history.
According to a 2025 Lending Tree survey, nearly half of Americans have used a BNPL service like Klarna or Affirm and close to a quarter (23%) have had three or more active BNPL loans at one time.
First introduced in 2019, the BNPL phenomenon has grown from standalone providers to retailers like Walmart and Apple, and even online giants like Amazon and DoorDash….