Jun 06, 2023

Question of the Day: What percent of consumers using "buy now, pay later" have been late with their payments?

How many people are getting what they want now, only to find themselves in trouble later?

Answer: 42%

Two hands opening an empty wallet.

Questions:

  • Have you seen the "buy now, pay later" options when you buy items online? If yes, have you ever used it? Why or why not? 
  • What are the pros/cons of using this payment option? 
  • Why do you think so many consumers have struggled to make on-time payments with "buy now, pay later?"

 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

 

Behind the numbers (Acorns): 

The share of American adults who’ve used buy-now, pay-later services in 2022 has increased to 43% — a 12 point jump from 2021, according to LendingTree.

Of those who have used these kinds of services, 42% have had to pay some kind of late fee. “That’s a really big number,” says Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree. “That means an awful lot of people have paid late with these loans.”

It’s particularly worrying because, while the idea behind buy-now, pay later is not new, they’ve only become widespread across online retailers in the past few years, Schulz says.

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Introduce this payment method of "buy now, pay later" to your students through this FinCap Friday episode.  

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It's been described by teachers as "better than TV." It's PD on your schedule at your own pace. Check out one of the 50 NGPF On-Demand modules (and earn Academy credit too)! 

About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan grew up with and maintains a love for learning. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration and worked in sports marketing for a number of years. After living in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Minnesota, the call of education eventually brought Ryan back to his home state of Wisconsin where he was a Business and Marketing teacher for three years. In his free time he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter, play basketball, read, and go fishing. Now with NGPF, Ryan is excited to help teachers lead the most important course their students will ever take.

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