Business & Finance
Consumers increasingly rely on buy now, pay later loans for rent and groceries
Federal Reserve data shows BNPL borrowing reached $160 billion in 2025 as consumers turned to short-term financing for essential household expenses.
The short version
- Americans are increasingly using buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans to pay for basic living necessities, including food, rent, utilities, and healthcare.
- Federal Reserve economists reported that BNPL borrowing doubled over two years, reaching $160 billion in 2025.
- Lenders describe the services as helpful budgeting tools that resolve timing mismatches, while consumer advocates caution that subscription costs, fees, and overlapping repayments risk trapping users in debt.
Key facts
- Americans borrowed $160 billion via BNPL loans in 2025, double the volume from two years prior, with more than $96 billion issued interest-free, according to Federal Reserve economists.[CBS News]
- A LendingTree survey found that 54% of BNPL borrowers reported being unable to cover basic living expenses without the loans.[CBS News]
- According to LendingTree survey data, nearly 30% of BNPL users used the loans for groceries in 2025, up from 14% two years earlier, and 23% used them for rent or medical, dental, or veterinary costs.[CBS News]
- Services offering installment payments for rent, such as Flex or an Affirm and Esusu Pay pilot, assess monthly memberships, processing fees, or percentage charges to divide payments.[CBS News]
- Advocacy organizations including the National Consumer Law Center and Protect Borrowers warn that overlapping automatic withdrawals can cause bank overdraft fees and increase long-term debt.[CBS News]
What remains uncertain
- The long-term delinquency and default rates across users holding multiple simultaneous BNPL loans for everyday expenses remain unquantified in the reporting.[CBS News]