Posted on 03/21/2025 6:57:45 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Buy Now Pay Later services are typically used on large purchases, like furniture. But now one service is branching out into fast food.
DoorDash is partnering with Klarna, a financial company that lets customers schedule small payments over a set period of time, in a new partnership announced Thursday.
When the option launches “soon,” DoorDash users can use Klarna to pay in four, interest-free payments or defer payments and let people pick a “date that aligns with their paycheck schedules,” according to a press release.
(BNPL) services, which also include Affirm and Apple, have exploded over the past few years. However, many economists and consumer advocates say the widespread use of these services, plus a lack of transparency and little regulatory oversight, leaves them wondering just how much debt Americans are actually getting into.
During last year’s holiday shopping season, Adobe said that BNPL usage “hit an all-time high,” raking in more than $18 billion in online spending — growing nearly 10% compared to the same time period a year earlier. The option is particularly attractive to younger, cash-strapped consumers who are looking to make their paycheck stretch further.
To make money, the BNPL providers charge merchants between 1.5% to 7% of the transaction price, according to Kansas City Federal Reserve research. For some retailers, the costs are worth it, according to research from RBC Capital Markets, which showed online BNPL offerings boosted average ticket sales by 30% to 50% and increase the share of customers who ultimately made a purchase.
Americans have found themselves in more and more debt recently. In the fourth quarter of last year, overall debt levels increased by 0.5% to $18.04 trillion, according to the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
Disturbing to those of us that have always tried to be fiscally responsible.
BUT, I'm not the one living beyond her means. ;)
Extremely disturbing I’d say.
Oh THIS is gonna end well.
I think that is a pretty bad idea.
“I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today”
👍👍
Wimpy Blast from the Past!
As if there isn’t a problem already with the use of credit.
I wonder what the interest rate is after the 4 interest-free payment period passes. My guess: one arm, one leg.
My plan is to spend it all before I go.
My heirs can pay for the funeral.
When you have to put your McNuggets on layaway you know you have a problem.
They don’t think Bruno will come to collect.............
This may be a good way to launder money also.
People complain about the price of fast food, etc., then pay to have it delivered?
Cooking simple meals is so much easier and cheaper...
“Cooking simple meals is so much easier and cheaper...”
and much healthier ...
DoorDash isn’t just fast food. During the lockdown a lot of of higher end places went to the delivery services to keep money coming in. And many have stayed, revenue that doesn’t cost real estate is always a good thing. I’ve dropped $100 for sushi for 2 brought to me. Mind I don’t need a payment plan for that. But really is it any different to payment plan via DoorDash than to go to a restaurant and put it on a credit card.
Disturbing is that people don’t cook their own food (it is cheaper)
If you can’t pay for DoorDash food now, you shouldn’t be ordering it.
I thought I was joking about people having to take out a loan to buy a fast-food meal, but it seems not.
There was dine and dash...
Now we have dash and dine and dash...
“A possible worrying sign for the economy”
Pfffft. Where was CNN’s worry when Obama and Biden were spending trillions of dollars that we don’t have?
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