Overview
- LendingTree’s latest survey reports 47% of users paid a BNPL bill late in the past year and about 29% used it for groceries, against a market that grew from $2 billion in 2019 to roughly $70 billion in 2025.
- More than half of users say they need these short-term loans to make ends meet, signaling BNPL is now an income bridge rather than only a way to split big buys.
- Stacking is common, with about one in four Americans carrying at least three BNPL loans at once, which makes due dates easy to miss and encourages overspending.
- Missed payments can trigger fees and now can show up on credit reports, which can lower credit scores and raise future borrowing costs.
- Experts urge guardrails such as tracking every plan, turning on automatic payments, limiting active loans, avoiding linking credit cards to BNPL, and using free nonprofit counseling if debt starts to build.