BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later)
Short-term installment loans at checkout, marketed as ‘0% interest’ financing.
Providers like Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay let you split a purchase into 4 interest-free payments, or longer loans at 10% to 36% APR. The mechanics encourage impulse spending; CFPB research has shown BNPL users are more likely to be financially distressed, to carry credit card balances, and to overdraft. Most BNPL plans do not build credit (some report only delinquencies, not on-time payments) and late fees stack quickly. If you cannot pay in full today, you cannot afford it.
Inside Finlo
A 60-second lesson that puts this term in context, alongside the others, lives inside the Finlo app.