A Note by Alec Klimowicz
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Buy Now, Pay Later (“BNPL”) has taken consumer shopping by storm. Businesses have emerged with the BNPL model as its primary operation, offering repayment plans, typically in four equal payments across six weeks, at no interest.[1] A financial movement that ostensibly began only a couple of years ago is now playing a role in over 200 billion dollars’ worth of transactions.[2] Consumers have accelerated BNPL’s use during the pandemic; BNPL’s usage increased by 230% in 2020 and 400% during the same year’s Black Friday holiday.[3] These businesses, however, have grown at such an exponential rate that regulators are now playing catch up.[4] The balancing act for regulators is to permit wide-usage of the service without taking away its redeeming qualities.
[1] Eversheds Sutherland, Focus on Fintech: The CFPB is Scrutinizing Buy Now Pay Later Products – is Rulemaking Next?, JD Supra (Jan. 25, 2022), https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/focus-on-fintech-the-cfpb-is-6337792/.
[2] Julia Gray, The Evolution of Buy Now, Pay Later, Morning Brew (Dec. 27, 2021), https://www.morningbrew.com/retail/stories/2021/12/27/the-evolution-of-buy-now-pay-later.
[3] Id.
[4] Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Opens Inquiry Into “Buy Now, Pay Later” Credit, Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau (Dec. 16, 2021), https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-opens-inquiry-into-buy-now-pay-later-credit.