Consumers are using buy now, pay later services more frequently and taking on larger loan amounts each year, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau analysis of the BNPL sector.
CFPB collected data from 2022 to 2023 from the six largest BNPL firms. In a recent report on its findings, the bureau said BNPL loan volumes continued to grow during the time period studied, although at a slower pace than in preceding years. However, the number of BNPL users reached 53.6 million in 2023 among the firms studied, a 12% increase from the previous year.
BNPL users took an average of 6.3 loans per lender in 2023, an 11% increase from an average of 5.7 loans in 2022, according to the report. In addition, the annual dollar amount of BNPL loans that consumers took from a lender per year increased by 14%, from $745 in 2022 to $848 in 2023 when adjusted for inflation. The CFPB also found that in 2023, 4.1% of BNPL loans were assessed a late fee.
