Buy Now Pay Later: a useful budgeting tool

 

As advanced in a previous article, more consumers are using Buy Now Pay Later services and this trend is expected to continue. A study conducted by a financial firm showed that 54% of clients will use this option by the end of the year.

These findings were corroborated by another research carried out by the consumer reporting agency Equifax. It revealed that in comparison to 10 months ago, 2.6 million more people in the UK are using BNPL solutions. Moreover, in October, 28% of the adult population made a minimum of one purchase using this payment method, in comparison to the 23% recorded in December last year. This study also reasserted the fact that customers opt for this facility because they believe that it will alleviate their financial burden. For instance, at least 27 percent advanced that they would have struggled to celebrate Christmas without BNPL services.

While BNPL can be a useful budgeting tool, things are not as rosy as they would seem. In fact, such solutions have also attracted criticisms because they have led to shoppers in the UK amassing more than 4.7 billion euros in outstanding debt. As such, like any other facilities, it must be used wisely, especially during this festive period. Consumers must make sure to purchase only what they can afford paying back.

Photo credit: cuncon from Pixabay

Consumers should spend wisely

Comments