Buy Now, Pay Later Offers Some Consumers Cheaper Credit: CFPB (1)

Buy now, pay later products can offer consumers facing mounting debt a cheaper option than high-interest credit cards but lack some other protections of traditional financial tools, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.

BNPL products, which typically allow people to pay for items or services in four equal payments across six weeks, exploded in popularity in the US during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

While the so-called “pay-in-four” model for point of sale loans is frequently considered an alternative to credit cards, the CFPB said in a Thursday report that buy now, pay later users had ...