Buy Now Pay Later is a great resource for lower income individuals if used responsibly. amirite?

Bnpl is a scam used to charge poor people exorbitant fees and interest. It's expensive to be poor

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Bnpl, at least the services I use, dont have any interest or fees if payments are on time.

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

I've never used Bnpl, but my understanding is they charge no interest until you make a mistake and then charge exorbitant interested backdated to time of purchase. So it works well if you never make a mistake, but if you do, you can owe a lot.

by Efficient-Impress 2 days ago

"a mistake" called not paying.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

And what population is most likely to miss a payment?

by Nwindler 2 days ago

Yeah but what is the alternative.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

A population not using it responsibly. The reality is being able to realize that just because you have a 600 dollar limit doesn't mean you should spend anywhere near that but you CAN get 100 bucks in groceries and pay it off over 8 weeks. Or a pair of work shoes. Or like I said, a video game. One reasonable thing at a time

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

Meth isn't good or responsible for anyone. This is a loan vehicle that is easy and clear to use

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Then people should pay on time. They also offer more traditional longer term loans with interest so they make money that way. Are mortgages predatory too?

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Do you remember 2008? Some mortgages absolutely can be, and too many caused massive harm to individuals as well as contributed harm to economy as a whole, which is why they are a more closely regulated financial product now…

by Silent-Confusion8413 2 days ago

Do you have stats backing up your "vast majority of users" claim? The issue seems to be a few people thinking it's free money and then going viral for it

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

If a TRUE emergency appears that prevents you from having 10 bucks a week, then you STILL have the item you needed, and you'll have a small insignificant debt that you can pay off when you're back on your feet. It's far from the end of the world

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

"Small insignificant debt" makes me think you're totally unaware of how that part of the financial industry actually works. At least in the States. Perhaps you live somewhere with stronger consumer protections…

by Silent-Confusion8413 2 days ago

Bnpl debts do not have interest. Only late fees. And most of them have a cap. Afterpays is 25% of the order. So an unpaid 100 dollar debt in the worst case scenario will become a 125 dollar debt

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

This only makes sense if what you are buying is a want not a need. The market and government are the ones making something unattainable. Not the person working a job that doesn't pay enough.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Well, yes, but isn't that true of almost all such programs. If used responsibly, then it's great! But lower income households are generally not known for using money responsibly. But, this is often out of their control because business owners chronically underpay them.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I understand this pov, but also the ability to get 100 dollars in food paid out over 8 weeks is a huge boon. The issue becomes just because you have a 600+ limit doesn't mean you should spend 600 bucks

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

No, this kind of attitude is the exact reason you are poor. Using all your money is bad practice in the first place. Also using borrowed money is just digging yourself deeper into the hole. If you genuinely want to use some money now to enjoy today and stress about the bills tomorrow, go right ahead, but don't blame anyone else for that situation and don't complain about living paycheck to paycheck.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Brother the entire point is this is a way to achieve things WITHOUT using all your money.

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

If you weren't using all your money you could just buy it with cash. Unless there is zero interest on the loan and you have that money in a good investment, there is no reason to pay later.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

There is 0 interest on BNPL. That's the entire point.

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

But how does it help to have that money in your bank account? Or do you actually invest the money you would have otherwise paid for the product?

by Anonymous 2 days ago

You just said spending all of your money is bad, and now you're saying what's the point of having the money in your account? You should pick one friend.

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago

"if used responsibly" I mean sure but that's circular thinking. Any argument against your point is just an example of irresponsible use.

by Angieparisian 2 days ago

I mean. Not really. A lot of people claim BNPL is objectively bad. My argument is it's not and can be a very useful tool. That's it really. Id go even further and say it's genuinely less predatory than pretty much any other lending system. No interest and well communicated reasonably capped late fees that makes it almost impossible to go into significant financial ruining debt unless you're maxing out multiple services with no regard to the future.

by Aggravating-Love 2 days ago