If you’ve been doing some online shopping lately, as many U.S. consumers have during the pandemic to avoid shopping in person (and maybe even just to pass the time while in quarantine), you might have noticed an increased recurrence of offers touting interest-free payments in installments.
Klarna, QuadPay, Affirm, Sezzle—these are just a few of the most familiar banking providers financing installment plans for e-commerce merchants. And as online purchases continue to increase and consumers look for more ways to save owing to COVID-19, “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services have accelerated in popularity.
