Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Americans Go Deeper Into Debt as They Use Buy Now, Pay Later Apps for Groceries

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-18/high-grocery-prices-make-americans-use-buy-now-pay-later#xj4y7vzkg 



Americans Go Deeper Into Debt as They Use Buy Now, Pay Later Apps for Groceries

With inflation squeezing budgets, more consumers are turning to instant credit apps to make ends meet.

relates to Americans Go Deeper Into Debt as They Use Buy Now, Pay Later Apps for Groceries
Illustration: Zak Tebbal for Bloomberg Businessweek
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Faith Smith was already stretching her $500 monthly grocery budget as far as it could go. Then her phone lit up with an imperfect solution.

She got a notification that Target Corp. would allow her to use “buy now, pay later” apps, which let consumers pay for goods in chunks over the course of several weeks or months. Smith was all too familiar with the BNPL process: The 34-year-old administrative assistant was already using it to buy clothes and school supplies for her young daughter. “I can’t just buy groceries out of pocket like I used to,” says Smith, who maxes out her credit on BNPL providers such as Afterpay, Klarna and PayPal. “It helps for a week or two, but then you’re stuck with a grocery bill for a couple months.”

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