Buy Now, Pay Later Has a Story to Tell
It’s a warning about the economy
We’ve got a problem.
I’ve been writing about it for a bit.
The reality of buy now, pay later is that it is masking income inequality.
It’s masking the makings of a great recession … or, a depression.
Everything is ok — because I can “pay in four.” I can manage this for “right now.”
A story out of LendingTree reveals the stark reality:
Buy Now, Pay Later services were originally intended to be a form of short-term financing, to spread payments out for different types of purchases across a relatively short period of time. But new evidence suggests that more consumers are using BNPL as “lifelines” that help them get by until they receive their next paycheck. A new report from LendingTree reveals that 27% of consumers are using BNPL services as bridge loans to help them make ends meet. More than one-fifth of consumers, for example, have used BNPL services to pay for groceries, according to the results of the survey.
Lifelines.
Nearly 1/3 of consumers are using BNPL as a “lifeline.”
Nevermind wage stagnation.
Or “inflation” that is really rising corporate profits.
As long as some investment banker funded app — or, apps — is making money, it’s all good, right?
The system is working.
Exactly the way it is designed.
