For those who used “buy now, pay later” programs to pay for holiday gift, later is now and the bill will soon be due.
And if you don’t pay on time, you could risk late fees, face collection agencies and court dates.
“‘Buy now pay later, it may feel kinder and gentler because it’s these shorter installments, but it is still debt,” said Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.
Companies, such as like Klarna and Affirm, offer payment plans over usually a six-week payment period with no interest.
Rossman compared the programs and credit cards to power tools, useful if used responsibly but potentially dangerous.
He also said the industry Is usually seeing younger, low-income earners taking advantage of the option.
“I think there is a risk to overspending … maybe you have multiple plans running at the same time with different companies, and it can be easy to lose track,” Rossman said. “You can trick yourself into overspending. You convince yourself that it’s not a $200 purchase anymore, it’s just four, easy payments of $50.”
While the services are newer, Rossman said the delinquency rates are surprisingly low.
“These are relatively low-dollar short term loans. There’s this feeling of like, how much trouble could you get into really,” Rossman said about the small, short-term loans.
There is also another deterrent that may explain the prompt payments — if consumer want to use the service again, they must pay back the amount it full.
Rossman said if you plan on using these programs in the future, check the terms because depending on the company, they can widely vary.
“Some of these longer-term plans are interest free, and some of them charged 15%, 20%, even 30% interest. So it’s important to check your specific terms,” he said.
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