Let the Buyer Beware… and Pay Later

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platforms are services that allow consumers to finance small to medium-sized purchases through installment payment plans. BNPL companies, like Klarna and Afterpay, allow consumers to split up their purchases over time rather than pay for things in one single payment. 

A 2025 study by the data analytics firm J.D. Power found that 42% of Gen Y and Gen Z consumers use BNPL, and more Gen Z consumers use BNPL than credit cards. In 2024, the gross merchandise volume for BNPL purchases in the United States amounted to $109 billion, according to research by CapitalOne Shopping. In fact, around 60% of Coachella ticket buyers used BNPL to pay for their tickets.

This technology has been subject to immense scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle and has been labeled as “predatory.” Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson even went so far as to call for BNPL companies to be shut down immediately. 

While using an installment plan to pay off a burrito may not sound like a prudent financial decision, there is nothing predatory about the ability to do so. In a free market, so long as transactions are voluntary, they are by definition not predatory.

Caveat emptor is a principle in contract law and lemon laws. It is a Latin phrase that translates to “let the buyer beware.” The principle asserts that it is the consumer’s duty to assess the inherent risks associated with a transaction. Just like any financial product, no one is forcing people to use BNPL technology. 

When individuals decide to utilize these payment platforms, they do so voluntarily and willingly, accepting the consequences. Moreover, like credit cards, if people use these technologies and comply with the terms of payment, there are generally no penalties. 

For the financially responsible, BNPL technology can be used to manage cash flow effectively and smooth consumption, just like credit cards. Regulating or banning these platforms, just because some consumers are irresponsible, would unnecessarily deny responsible users greater financial optionality.

The assertion that individuals cannot be trusted to make their own decisions is paternalistic and undermines freedom of choice and financial autonomy. BNPL is simply another tool in the financial marketplace, no different in principle from credit cards, mortgages, or car loans.

Likewise, BNPL companies should take full responsibility for the risks they incur through their lending practices and not expect taxpayers to bail them out, as has happened in the past with banks deemed “too big to fail.” These companies should be wary of the fact that, according to research by the Federal Reserve Board, individuals “who report lower overall financial well-being” and “appear liquidity or credit constrained” were among the most likely to use BNPL. Let the buyer beware, but also, let the seller beware.

Consumers should be free to choose which products they utilize and to accept the risks associated with those risks. To argue that humans are incapable of making their own choices is to infantilize adults and strip them of the very autonomy that makes a free market possible.