Buy Now, Pay Later Statistics 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: Sarah Davis | Last updated: November 4, 2026 | License: CC BY 4.0
Axis Intelligence Research estimates that 43.2 million American adults used buy now, pay later (BNPL) in the year to October 2025, and 11.2 million of them paid an installment late. Both figures apply the Federal Reserve’s 2025 survey rates (16% used BNPL, 26% of users paid late) to the Census Bureau’s count of 269.8 million U.S. adults.
Quick Answer
16% of U.S. adults used BNPL in 2025, and 26% of them paid late, per the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED). After credit-loss provisions, Affirm kept 6.96 cents per dollar of volume in H1 2026; Klarna kept 2.38 cents. Worldwide, BNPL apps carried $300 billion, 4% of e-commerce value, in 2025 (Worldpay).
Key Findings
- Axis Intelligence Research estimates that 11.2 million U.S. adults paid a BNPL installment late in the year to October 2025, and 7.2 million were charged a late fee (Federal Reserve SHED 2025; Census Bureau).
- BNPL users with family income under $25,000 paid late at 3.6 times the rate of users earning $100,000 or more, 40% against 11%, per the Federal Reserve’s 2025 SHED.
- Axis Intelligence Research’s Pay-Later Net Yield (PLNY) puts Affirm at 6.96 cents and Klarna at 2.38 cents of revenue kept per dollar of volume after credit-loss provisions, January–June 2026.
- Affirm and Klarna together processed $96.0 billion in the first half of 2026, up 27.2% from a year earlier, while GWI’s worldwide weekly BNPL usage fell from 16.1% to 15.3% (Axis Intelligence Research from company filings and GWI).
- Axis Intelligence Research estimates that 38.5% of the world’s $300 billion in BNPL e-commerce value falls under EU, UK or Australian BNPL credit rules once the EU directive applies on November 20, 2026, while 50% is in the United States, which has no federal BNPL rule (Worldpay GPR 2026 data).
How Many Americans Use Buy Now, Pay Later?
About 43.2 million U.S. adults used BNPL in the 12 months before October 2025. The Federal Reserve’s 2025 Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households report (published May 2026, survey fielded October 17–28, 2025) found that 16% of adults used BNPL, up one point from 15% in 2024 and up from 10% in 2021, the first year the question was asked. Axis Intelligence Research converts that rate into people using the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimate of 269,763,509 residents aged 18 and over on July 1, 2025.
Formula: 269,763,509 × 16% = 43.2 million BNPL users (Axis Intelligence Research estimate).
BNPL usage by income, age, race and sex
| Group (U.S. adults, 2025) | Used BNPL in prior 12 months | Users who paid late | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| All adults | 16% | 26% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Income under $25,000 | 18% | 40% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Income $25,000–$49,999 | 23% | 33% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Income $50,000–$99,999 | 18% | 25% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Income $100,000 or more | 12% | 11% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Age 18–29 | 22% | 32% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Age 30–44 | 21% | 31% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Age 45–59 | 17% | 22% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Age 60 and over | 9% | 12% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Black | 29% | 32% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Hispanic | 26% | 26% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| White | 12% | 21% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Asian | 11% | 16% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Women | 19% | 27% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Men | 14% | 23% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
The heaviest users are not the poorest households. Adults earning $25,000 to $49,999 use BNPL most (23%), ahead of those under $25,000 (18%). Usage falls to 12% above $100,000, the group with the easiest access to credit cards. For comparison, 82% of U.S. adults had a credit card in 2025, and 45% of cardholders carried a balance at least once during the year (SHED 2025). Card balances are covered in our credit card debt statistics.
Analyst note — Sarah Davis: The usage curve peaks in the lower-middle band, not at the bottom. These households earn enough to be approved for a pay-in-four loan and not enough to absorb a surprise bill. That is the borrower FICO had in mind when it launched scores that incorporate BNPL data in June 2025: the debt exists, and until those scores are used, most underwriting models do not see it.
How Many BNPL Users Pay Late?
26% of U.S. BNPL users paid at least one installment late in 2025, essentially unchanged from the prior year, according to the Federal Reserve. Of the late payers, 64% were charged extra for it. Separately, 11% of BNPL users had a BNPL payment trigger an overdraft or non-sufficient-funds (NSF) fee from their bank. An NSF fee is the charge a bank makes when a payment bounces for lack of funds.
| U.S. adults, year to October 2025 | Count | Formula | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used BNPL | 43.2 million | 269.8M × 16% | Axis estimate from SHED + Census |
| Paid a BNPL installment late | 11.2 million | 43.2M × 26% | Axis estimate from SHED + Census |
| Charged a BNPL late fee | 7.2 million | 11.2M × 64% | Axis estimate from SHED + Census |
| Had a BNPL payment trigger an overdraft or NSF fee | 4.7 million | 43.2M × 11% | Axis estimate from SHED + Census |
The late-payment gap by income is wide: 40% of users with family income under $25,000 paid late, against 11% of users earning $100,000 or more, a ratio of 3.6 to 1. By age, users aged 18–29 paid late at 32% and users 60 and over at 12%. The SHED also links the two kinds of fees: 38% of users who were charged a BNPL late fee also had a BNPL payment trigger a bank overdraft or NSF fee.
Analyst note — Sarah Davis: BNPL is sold as interest-free, but for users who fall behind it costs fees. A missed installment can lead to a late fee from the lender and an overdraft fee from the bank on the same payment. New York’s proposed $8 safe harbor and the UK rule that late fees should cover only reasonable costs both target that cost. For the households most likely to pay it, see our household debt statistics.
What Do People Buy With BNPL, and Why?
Nearly half of U.S. BNPL users bought clothing or accessories with it in 2025, and about one in five used it for groceries or food delivery, per the Federal Reserve. Axis Intelligence Research estimates that the grocery share represents roughly 8.6 million adults (43.2 million × about 20%). Among them, 45% said BNPL was the only way they could afford the purchase.
| Main reason for using BNPL (U.S. users, 2025) | Share | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Spread out payments | 31% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Only way to afford the purchase | 29% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Avoid interest charges | 16% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Convenience | 12% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Did not want to use a credit card | 4% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Wanted a fixed number of payments | 2% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
| Only payment method accepted | 1% | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
Spreading payments (31%) and affordability (29%) are close to a tie. The two answers suggest different situations: some users choose BNPL to manage cash flow, while others have no other way to pay. Only 4% chose BNPL to avoid a credit card, so the idea that BNPL is mainly a protest against cards is not supported by the data.
Which Countries Use BNPL the Most?
Indonesia leads with 34.7% of internet users aged 16+ using BNPL every week, followed by Sweden (29.3%) and China (27.2%), according to GWI’s Q2 2026 survey wave, published in the October 2026 Global Overview by We Are Social and Meltwater. The worldwide figure is 15.3%. South Korea is lowest of the 53 markets at 2.6%.
| Rank | Market | Weekly BNPL use, Q2 2026 | Regime reviewed on this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesia | 34.7% | — |
| 2 | Sweden | 29.3% | EU Consumer Credit Directive from Nov 20, 2026 |
| 3 | China | 27.2% | — |
| 4 | Thailand | 24.1% | — |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | 23.6% | — |
| 6 | Norway | 20.3% | — |
| 7 | Netherlands | 17.1% | EU Consumer Credit Directive |
| 16 | Australia | 12.7% | Credit licence since Jun 10, 2025 |
| 18 | Germany | 11.7% | EU Consumer Credit Directive |
| 19 | France | 11.6% | EU Consumer Credit Directive |
| 26 | United Kingdom | 10.2% | FCA regulation since Jul 15, 2026 |
| 29 | United States | 8.7% | No federal BNPL rule; New York rule proposed |
| 44 | Japan | 4.8% | — |
| 53 | South Korea | 2.6% | — |
| — | Worldwide | 15.3% | — |
Source: GWI (Q2 2026). Regime column: Axis Intelligence Research from FCA, EUR-Lex, ASIC and NYDFS documents. All 53 markets are in the CSV.
Axis Intelligence Research finds that 20 of GWI’s 53 markets fall under one of the three BNPL credit regimes reviewed here once the EU directive applies on November 20, 2026: the 18 EU member states in GWI’s list, the UK and Australia. The regulation does not follow usage. The simple average for the 18 EU markets is 10.2% weekly use, and the other 33 markets average 11.0%. Four of the five heaviest-using markets (Indonesia, China, Thailand, Saudi Arabia) are outside the three regimes.
The U.S. figures differ by survey. GWI’s 8.7% counts internet users who use BNPL every week. The Federal Reserve’s 16% counts adults who used it at least once in a year. They measure different things, and both are correct.
BNPL use by age and gender, worldwide
Weekly use peaks at ages 25–44 (17.6% to 17.8% for both sexes) and falls to 4.9% of women and 3.7% of men aged 65 and over (GWI, Q2 2026). Men under 25 use BNPL more than women of the same age (15.6% against 13.5%). For younger consumers’ finances more broadly, see our Gen Z statistics.
Where Does BNPL Carry the Most Online Spending?
BNPL apps handled about $300 billion of e-commerce transactions in 2025, 4% of global online value, and Worldpay forecasts $500 billion (5%) by 2030, an 11% annual growth rate, according to the Worldpay Global Payments Report 2026. The figure excludes BNPL used inside digital wallets. In 2014, the first edition of the report put it at $2.3 billion. Europe has the highest regional share at 9%.
Axis Intelligence Research multiplied each market’s BNPL share by its e-commerce market size, both from Worldpay, to estimate where the dollars are. The 42 markets add up to $295.5 billion, within 2% of Worldpay’s global $300 billion, which is a useful check on the method.
| Market | BNPL share of e-com value, 2025 | Est. BNPL e-com value, 2025 (Axis) | BNPL share, 2030F | Weekly BNPL users (GWI, Q2 2026) | Regime reviewed on this page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 6% | $150.0B | 8% | 8.7% | No federal rule |
| Germany | 18% | $34.6B | 19% | 11.7% | EU directive |
| United Kingdom | 8% | $29.7B | 9% | 10.2% | FCA |
| Australia | 13% | $11.6B | 14% | 12.7% | ASIC |
| France | 5% | $10.0B | 6% | 11.6% | EU directive |
| Sweden | 25% | $7.5B | 26% | 29.3% | EU directive |
| Canada | 5% | $6.2B | 6% | 6.3% | — |
| Italy | 5% | $4.9B | — | 10.3% | EU directive |
| Netherlands | 10% | $4.2B | 11% | 17.1% | EU directive |
| Norway | 19% | $4.2B | 20% | 20.3% | — |
| Japan | 2% | $3.9B | 2% | 4.8% | — |
| Indonesia | 3% | $2.5B | 3% | 34.7% | — |
| Poland | 3% | $1.2B | 4% | 15.3% | EU directive |
| Saudi Arabia | 4% | $1.0B | 5% | 23.6% | — |
| Thailand | 1% | $0.35B | — | 24.1% | — |
| China | <1% | — | — | 27.2% | — |
Sources: Worldpay Global Payments Report 2026 (shares and market sizes); GWI (Q2 2026). Estimated value = BNPL share × e-commerce market size, calculated by Axis Intelligence Research. Worldpay rounds shares to whole percentages, so values are approximate. All 42 Worldpay markets are in the CSV.
How many people use BNPL tells you little about how much money it carries. Across the 40 markets covered by both surveys, Axis Intelligence Research measures a Spearman rank correlation of only 0.38 between GWI’s weekly users and Worldpay’s BNPL share of online value. A Spearman correlation of 1 would mean the two rankings match exactly. Indonesia has the highest weekly use (34.7%), but BNPL carries only 3% of its online spending. China (27.2% weekly use, under 1% of value) and Thailand (24.1%, 1%) follow the same pattern. Germany shows the opposite: 11.7% weekly use, but BNPL carries 18% of online value and an estimated $34.6 billion, second only to the U.S. Worldpay links Germany’s figure to a long preference for paying by invoice.
The two series are shown side by side and not combined into a single score. One measures people, the other measures dollars, and they come from different surveys.
The regulatory map by value. Axis Intelligence Research estimates that the 12 EU markets in Worldpay’s list carry about $74.2 billion of BNPL e-commerce value. With the UK ($29.7 billion) and Australia ($11.6 billion), that is $115.4 billion, or 38.5% of the global $300 billion, under a BNPL credit regime once the EU directive applies on November 20, 2026. The U.S., at $150 billion, accounts for 50% and has no federal BNPL rule.
Analyst note — Sarah Davis: The markets with the most weekly BNPL users are mostly in Asia, but most BNPL dollars are in the U.S. and northern Europe. In Indonesia and Thailand, high usage with a small share of spending points to frequent, small purchases. In Germany, BNPL carries a larger share of spending than its user count suggests. For a lender, the first kind of market brings frequency and the second brings volume. For a regulator, it matters that half of the world’s BNPL e-commerce dollars are in a country without a federal BNPL rule.
Is BNPL Still Growing in 2026?
BNPL volume is still growing, but the number of users is not. Lenders are growing because existing customers use BNPL more often. GWI’s worldwide weekly usage peaked at 16.3% in Q4 2024 and reached 15.3% in Q2 2026, its lowest reading in the nine quarters shown. Over the same period, the large lenders kept growing at double-digit rates.
| Lender metric | Latest | Year earlier | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affirm GMV, fiscal year to June 2026 | $50.2B | $36.7B | +36.9% | Affirm FQ4’26 supplement |
| Affirm active consumers | 27.8M | 23.0M | +21% | Affirm FQ4’26 supplement |
| Affirm GMV per active consumer (Axis calc.) | $1,805 | $1,594 | +13.2% | Axis from Affirm |
| Affirm transactions per active consumer | 7.0 | — | +20% | Affirm 10-K FY2026 |
| Klarna GMV, Q2 2026 | $36.6B | $31.2B | +18% | Klarna Q2’26 release |
| Klarna active consumers | 120M | 111M | +8% | Klarna Q2’26 release |
| Klarna quarterly GMV per active consumer (Axis calc.) | $305 | $281 | +8.7% | Axis from Klarna |
| Sezzle purchase frequency, Q1 2026 | 7.1× | 6.1× | +1.0× | Sezzle Q1’26 release |
GMV (gross merchandise volume) is the total value of purchases financed through a lender’s checkout. At Affirm, 96% of transactions in fiscal 2026 came from repeat consumers (10-K). Affirm added 21% more active consumers, and each one transacted about 20% more often. Klarna’s volume grew more than twice as fast as its user count.
Analyst note — Sarah Davis: When growth comes from frequency, the risk is different. A lender that adds new users takes on unknown borrowers. A lender whose existing borrowers take out more loans takes on more exposure to the same people. The SHED’s late-payment rate held steady at 26% while Affirm’s delinquency rose (see below). The borrower base is not changing much; the number of open plans per borrower is.
Affirm statistics 2026
Affirm processed $50.2 billion of GMV in fiscal 2026 (year to June 30, 2026), up from $36.7 billion, and reported revenue of $4.261 billion, per its FY Q4 2026 earnings supplement. It had 27.8 million active consumers, about 571,000 active merchants and 5.2 million active Affirm Card holders. In its fiscal 2026 Form 10-K, 70% of GMV was interest-bearing monthly installments, 16% was “Pay in X” (mostly four interest-free installments) and 14% was 0% APR monthly installments. Affirm guides to more than $64 billion of GMV in fiscal 2027, at least 27.6% growth.
Klarna statistics 2026
Klarna processed $36.6 billion of GMV in Q2 2026 with 120 million active consumers and 1.208 million merchants, per its Q2 2026 earnings release. U.S. GMV was $7.9 billion, up 27%. Klarna Card reached 6.5 million active users. In August 2026, Klarna cut its full-year 2026 GMV outlook from above $155 billion to $149–151 billion. Against 2025 GMV of $127.9 billion (full-year 2025 results), that implies 16.5% to 18.1% growth. Klarna reports its third quarter on November 17, 2026.
Sezzle, Zip, Afterpay and PayPal
Sezzle reported Q2 2026 GMV of $1.3 billion (+37.9%) and 854,000 Active Subscribers. Zip Co reported fiscal 2026 total transaction volume (TTV) of A$16.65 billion, including US$8.60 billion in the U.S. (+42.5% in dollars), and 6.52 million active customers. Block does not report Afterpay’s volume separately. In its Q1 2026 shareholder letter, Block said Afterpay Post-Purchase origination volume grew more than 15 times year over year, and Consumer Lending originations (Cash App Borrow plus BNPL) reached $17.6 billion in the quarter. PayPal does not report BNPL volume separately. Its Q3 2026 release says it originates BNPL receivables as held for sale, which means it plans to sell the loans rather than keep them. For PayPal’s wider numbers, see our PayPal statistics.
How Much Do BNPL Lenders Earn Per Dollar? The Pay-Later Net Yield (PLNY)
Affirm kept 6.96 cents of revenue per dollar of volume after credit-loss provisions in January–June 2026, Klarna kept 2.38 cents and Sezzle about 10 cents, according to the Pay-Later Net Yield (PLNY), a metric built by Axis Intelligence Research. PLNY measures how much revenue a lender keeps from each dollar of purchases it finances once it has set money aside for loans it expects will not be repaid.
Formula: PLNY = (total revenue − provision for credit losses) ÷ GMV × 100, in cents per dollar. Same six-month window (January–June 2026) for each lender, built from quarterly filings.
| Lender, Jan–Jun 2026 | GMV | Revenue | Credit-loss provision | Take rate (¢ per $) | Provision (¢ per $) | PLNY (¢ per $) | Provision as % of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sezzle | $2.4B | $285.2M | $44.3M | 11.9 | 1.85 | ≈10.0 | 15.5% |
| Affirm | $25.7B | $2,205M | $419.7M | 8.59 | 1.64 | 6.96 | 19.0% |
| Klarna | $70.3B | $2,054M | $378M | 2.92 | 0.54 | 2.38 | 18.4% |
Sources: Affirm FQ3’26 and FQ4’26 earnings supplements; Klarna Q1’26 and Q2’26 earnings releases (SEC); Sezzle Q1’26 and Q2’26 releases. Calculation: Axis Intelligence Research. Sezzle’s GMV is rounded to $0.1 billion in its releases, so its PLNY falls between 9.6 and 10.5 cents. Affirm’s FQ4 GMV ($14.1 billion) is also rounded in the source.
The three lenders set aside a similar share of revenue for credit losses: between 15.5% and 19.0%. Their PLNY differs mainly because of product mix. Only $4.7 billion of Klarna’s $36.6 billion Q2 2026 GMV was Fair Financing, its longer-term product, so Klarna takes in 2.92 cents per dollar. At Affirm, 70% of fiscal 2026 GMV was interest-bearing monthly installments, and Sezzle adds consumer subscriptions (854,000 Active Subscribers), so their take rates are higher.
The trend runs in opposite directions. Affirm’s PLNY slipped from 7.11 cents in fiscal 2025 to 6.90 cents in fiscal 2026, as revenue rose 32.2% while GMV rose 36.9%. Klarna’s rose from 2.15 cents in January–June 2025 to 2.38 cents in January–June 2026.
Analyst note — Sarah Davis: A 2.38-cent yield does not by itself mean Klarna is less profitable. Short loans are repaid and re-lent several times a year, while Affirm’s 6.96 cents is earned on loans that mostly stay on the books for months. PLNY tells you what the lender keeps per dollar of purchases. To compare profitability, divide it by how long the money is lent. A merchant can use it the other way: what the lender keeps is roughly what you are paying for the higher conversion.
Why Zip is shown separately
Zip reports net bad debts (losses actually written off) rather than an accounting provision. Its fiscal 2026 revenue margin of 8.1% minus net bad debts of 1.77% of TTV gives 6.33 cents per Australian dollar, which is not a PLNY reading. Axis Intelligence Research publishes it beside the index instead of ranking it, because a provision and a write-off measure losses at different times.
Are BNPL Delinquencies Rising?
Affirm’s 30-day delinquency on U.S. monthly installment loans rose to 2.5% in June 2026 from 2.3% a year earlier. In March 2026 it was 2.8%, up from 2.4% (Affirm earnings supplements). A loan is 30 days delinquent when a payment is at least 30 days overdue. Zip’s net bad debts rose to 1.77% of TTV in fiscal 2026 from 1.52%.
Other measures moved the other way. Klarna’s provision for credit losses fell to 0.52% of GMV in Q2 2026 from 0.56% a year earlier. Sezzle’s provision was 2.4% of GMV in Q2 2026. Its first-quarter provision was 1.2% of GMV, down from 1.6% in Q1 2025.
| Credit metric | Latest | Year earlier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affirm 30+ day delinquency, monthly installments (U.S.), June quarter | 2.5% | 2.3% | Affirm FQ4’26 supplement |
| Affirm 30+ day delinquency, March quarter | 2.8% | 2.4% | Affirm FQ3’26 supplement |
| Klarna provision for credit losses, % of GMV, Q2 | 0.52% | 0.56% | Klarna Q2’26 release |
| Sezzle provision for credit losses, % of GMV, Q2 2026 | 2.4% | — | Sezzle Q2’26 release |
| Zip net bad debts, % of TTV, fiscal year | 1.77% | 1.52% | Zip FY26 results |
| U.S. BNPL users who paid late (survey) | 26% | Essentially unchanged | Federal Reserve SHED 2025 |
How Much Will Americans Spend With BNPL This Holiday Season?
Adobe forecasts $21.3 billion of U.S. online BNPL spending from November 1 to December 31, 2026, up 6.6%, including $1.09 billion on Cyber Monday (Adobe, September 28, 2026). In the 2025 season BNPL drove $20 billion, up 9.8%, and $1.03 billion on Cyber Monday (Adobe 2025 season recap).
| U.S. online holiday season | BNPL spend | Total online spend | BNPL share (Axis calc.) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (actual) | $20.0B | $257.8B | 7.76% | Adobe |
| 2026 (forecast) | $21.3B | $275.1B | 7.74% | Adobe |
Total online spending is forecast to grow 6.7%, about the same as BNPL. BNPL’s share of the holiday basket has stopped rising. This matches the frequency finding above: BNPL is growing with e-commerce, not faster than it. The share is calculated with the same method as the BNPL Day Share (BDS), which Axis Intelligence Research tracks day by day on its Cyber Monday statistics page, and the device split is in our mobile commerce statistics.
BNPL Regulation in 2026 and 2027: What Changes, Where
Between July 2026 and early 2027, BNPL comes under credit law in the UK and the EU, while the U.S. has no federal BNPL rule. The table lists each regime with its primary source: the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), EUR-Lex for the EU, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). AFCA is the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
| Jurisdiction | What changed | Date | Primary source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Interest-free “deferred payment credit” regulated by the FCA: creditworthiness checks, pre-contract information, support for borrowers in difficulty, Financial Ombudsman access, late fees limited to reasonable costs | July 15, 2026 | FCA PS26/1 |
| European Union | Consumer Credit Directive (EU) 2023/2225 brings BNPL schemes and credit under €200 into scope (Recitals 15–16) and requires a creditworthiness assessment before any credit agreement (Article 18). Member states had to transpose it by November 20, 2025 (Article 48); the 2008 directive is repealed on the application date | Applies November 20, 2026 | EUR-Lex |
| Australia | BNPL regulated as credit: credit licence, modified responsible lending, AFCA membership | June 10, 2025 | ASIC |
| United States (federal) | CFPB withdrew its 2024 BNPL interpretive rule | May 12, 2025 | CFPB |
| New York State | BNPL law signed with the FY2026 state budget in 2025. The DFS rule requires a license, limits late and penalty fees ($8 safe harbor), bans convenience charges, and requires lenders to say whether loans are reported to credit bureaus. It takes effect 180 days after adoption | Pre-proposed February 23, 2026; proposed July 15, 2026 | NYDFS announcement · rule text |
| United States (credit scoring) | FICO launched FICO Score 10 BNPL and FICO Score 10 T BNPL | June 23, 2025 | FICO |
The UK market being regulated grew from £0.06 billion in 2017 to more than £13 billion in 2024, and 20% of UK consumers (10.9 million adults) used it in the 12 months to May 2024, per the FCA’s policy statement. Firms in the UK temporary permissions regime have six months after July 15, 2026, to apply for full authorization, which puts the deadline in mid-January 2027.
The EU date is fixed, but national laws are late. According to Brussels Signal, the European Commission sent reasoned opinions to 16 member states on October 1, 2026, for failing to transpose the directive, including Spain, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Portugal. A reasoned opinion is the second stage of an EU infringement case. For the wider rules changing in payments, see our payment trends 2027 analysis.
Analyst note — Sarah Davis: In the UK, a lender must now assess each deferred-payment transaction, including those under £50, and the EU directive requires a creditworthiness assessment before every credit agreement. Those checks cost money, and the lenders with the thinnest yield per dollar feel them most. In the U.S., the picture is reversed: federal guidance was withdrawn and one state is writing the rulebook. If New York adopts its rule, an $8 penalty fee becomes the reference point every lender in the country is measured against.
What Do the 2027 Numbers Already Say?
The figures for 2027 already published point in one direction: volume growth continues and user growth does not.
| 2027 signal | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Affirm FY2027 GMV guidance (July 2026–June 2027) | > $64B (≥ +27.6%) | Affirm FQ4’26 supplement |
| Affirm FY2027 revenue and RLTC guidance | Similar to FY2026 as % of GMV | Affirm FQ4’26 supplement |
| Zip FY2027 U.S. TTV growth guidance | > 30% (in USD) | Zip FY26 results |
| Klarna FY2026 GMV guidance (sets the base for 2027) | $149–151B | Klarna Q2’26 release |
| UK full-authorization deadline for TPR firms | Mid-January 2027 | FCA PS26/1 |
| New York BNPL rule | 180 days after adoption | NYDFS |
| Global BNPL e-commerce value, Axis 2027 path | ≈ $368B | Axis Intelligence Research from Worldpay ($300B in 2025, $500B in 2030) |
| U.S. BNPL e-commerce value, Axis 2027 path | ≈ $190B | Axis Intelligence Research from Worldpay (6% of $2.5T in 2025, 8% of $3.4T in 2030) |
Formula for the 2027 paths: 2025 value × (2030 value ÷ 2025 value)^(2/5), a constant-growth interpolation of Worldpay’s figures. It is not a forecast.
RLTC (revenue less transaction costs) is Affirm’s own margin measure. It was 4.2% of GMV in fiscal 2026, and Affirm guides both revenue and RLTC to similar shares of GMV in fiscal 2027. Because revenue per dollar is guided flat, any move in Affirm’s fiscal 2027 PLNY from the 6.90-cent reading will come from credit-loss provisions.
Analyst note — Sarah Davis: To track BNPL in 2027, watch four numbers. Klarna’s 2026 GMV result in February will show whether the $149–151 billion range holds. Affirm’s delinquency will show whether frequency growth is raising risk. GWI’s weekly use will show whether users keep leaving. Then, in Europe, the first quarter of affordability checks will show the cost of the new rules. Any one of them could change the conclusions on this page.
Methodology
Scope. This page covers consumer BNPL: point-of-sale installment credit, both interest-free pay-in-four and interest-bearing monthly plans, from the lenders that publish audited or exchange-filed results.
Sources. Each figure comes from the organization that produced it, and every source was opened and checked on November 4, 2026. Survey rates come from the Federal Reserve’s SHED 2025 (fielded October 17–28, 2025) and GWI’s Q2 2026 wave. Lender figures come from SEC filings, investor supplements and exchange announcements. Holiday spending comes from Adobe Digital Insights. Country payment shares and e-commerce market sizes come from the Worldpay Global Payments Report 2026, which models shares of transaction value from a GlobalData survey of 63,441 consumers in 42 markets (Q2 2025) combined with transaction data. Rules come from the FCA, EUR-Lex, ASIC, CFPB and NYDFS. The only global market-size figure used is Worldpay’s, because its method is published and its country shares can be checked against its total. Market-research estimates whose methods cannot be reproduced are not used.
Axis calculations.
- Population estimates: SHED rate × Census adult population (269,763,509 on July 1, 2025). The survey and the population date are three months apart.
- Pay-Later Net Yield (PLNY): (revenue − provision for credit losses) ÷ GMV, over the same six-month calendar window for each lender. Affirm’s January–June 2026 figures are its fiscal Q3 plus Q4. Only lenders reporting an accounting provision are ranked.
- GMV per active consumer: GMV ÷ active consumers at period end. Affirm counts active consumers over a trailing 12 months, and Klarna reports a quarterly count, so the two are not compared with each other.
- Holiday share: Adobe BNPL spend ÷ Adobe total online spend, same season.
- BNPL e-commerce value by market: Worldpay BNPL share × Worldpay e-commerce market size. Shares are rounded to whole percentages, and markets reported at <1% are left out of the sums.
- Usage vs value: Spearman rank correlation across the 40 markets covered by both GWI and Worldpay. Shares reported as <1% are set at 0.5%.
- Country regime mapping: GWI’s 53 markets mapped against the four regimes documented above. A dash means not reviewed on this page, not “unregulated.”
What the figures do not show. The SHED measures whether a user paid late at least once, not the share of loans or dollars paid late. GWI covers internet users aged 16+, and its 65+ figures are not available in all countries. PLNY excludes operating costs and funding costs, so it does not measure profit.
About This Dataset
The file buy-now-pay-later-statistics.csv contains 489 rows. Each row includes the value, unit, as-of date, source organization, document, URL, retrieval date, a primary-source flag, an Axis-calculation flag and the formula used. It is published under CC BY 4.0 and free to download, with no email required. It covers U.S. usage and late payments (SHED 2025), weekly BNPL use in 53 markets (GWI Q2 2026), BNPL shares and e-commerce market sizes for 42 markets (Worldpay GPR 2026), lender results for Affirm, Klarna, Sezzle, Zip, Block and PayPal, Adobe holiday data, regulatory dates, and every Axis calculation on this page.
The page is updated when new data is published, not on a fixed schedule.
How to Cite This Page
APA: Axis Intelligence Research, & Davis, S. (2026, November 4). Buy now, pay later statistics 2026: 43 million U.S. users, 11 million late payers, and the 2027 rulebook. Axis Intelligence. https://axis-intelligence.com/buy-now-pay-later-statistics/
MLA: Axis Intelligence Research, and Sarah Davis. “Buy Now, Pay Later Statistics 2026: 43 Million U.S. Users, 11 Million Late Payers, and the 2027 Rulebook.” Axis Intelligence, 4 Nov. 2026, axis-intelligence.com/buy-now-pay-later-statistics/.
Chicago: Axis Intelligence Research, and Sarah Davis. “Buy Now, Pay Later Statistics 2026: 43 Million U.S. Users, 11 Million Late Payers, and the 2027 Rulebook.” Axis Intelligence, November 4, 2026. https://axis-intelligence.com/buy-now-pay-later-statistics/.
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Americans who use BNPL pay late?
26% of U.S. BNPL users paid at least one installment late in 2025, per the Federal Reserve’s SHED 2025. Axis Intelligence Research estimates that this is 11.2 million adults. The rate reaches 40% among users with family income under $25,000. 64% of late payers were charged a late fee, and 11% of all users had a BNPL payment trigger a bank overdraft or NSF fee.
Are people using buy now, pay later for groceries?
Yes. About one in five U.S. BNPL users used it for groceries or food delivery in 2025, roughly 8.6 million adults by Axis Intelligence Research’s estimate. 45% of them said it was the only way they could afford the purchase (Federal Reserve SHED 2025).
How much does Affirm make per dollar compared with Klarna?
In January–June 2026, Affirm kept 6.96 cents of revenue per dollar of GMV after credit-loss provisions and Klarna kept 2.38 cents, according to Axis Intelligence Research’s Pay-Later Net Yield (PLNY). The difference reflects product mix: only $4.7 billion of Klarna’s $36.6 billion Q2 2026 GMV was its longer-term Fair Financing, while 70% of Affirm’s fiscal 2026 GMV was interest-bearing monthly installments.
Is Klarna bigger than Affirm?
By volume, yes. Klarna processed $36.6 billion of GMV in Q2 2026 with 120 million active consumers. Affirm processed $14.1 billion in the same quarter with 27.8 million active consumers (company filings). Affirm earns more revenue per dollar: 8.59 cents against Klarna’s 2.92 cents in January–June 2026.
How big is the buy now, pay later market?
BNPL apps carried about $300 billion of global e-commerce value in 2025, 4% of the total, and Worldpay forecasts $500 billion (5%) by 2030. Axis Intelligence Research estimates the U.S. at about $150 billion, half the global total, followed by Germany ($34.6 billion) and the UK ($29.7 billion). Sweden has the highest BNPL share of online spending, at 25%.
Which country uses buy now, pay later the most?
By number of users, Indonesia: 34.7% of internet users aged 16+ use BNPL every week, followed by Sweden (29.3%) and China (27.2%), per GWI’s Q2 2026 survey. By share of online spending, Sweden leads at 25% (Worldpay). In Indonesia, BNPL carries only 3% of online value.
What changes for BNPL in the EU on November 20, 2026?
From that date, the Consumer Credit Directive (EU) 2023/2225 applies. Its recitals bring BNPL schemes and credit under €200 into scope, and Article 18 requires a creditworthiness assessment before any credit agreement. Lenders must also provide standard pre-contractual information (the European Consumer Credit Information form). Many member states are late: Brussels Signal reported that 16 received reasoned opinions from the Commission on October 1, 2026.
Is buy now, pay later regulated in the US in 2026?
Not at the federal level. The CFPB withdrew its 2024 BNPL interpretive rule on May 12, 2025. New York enacted a BNPL law in 2025, and its Department of Financial Services proposed licensing rules on July 15, 2026, including an $8 safe harbor for penalty fees and a requirement to disclose whether loans are reported to credit bureaus.
Is BNPL still growing?
Lending volume is, but the number of users is not. Affirm and Klarna processed $96.0 billion in January–June 2026, up 27.2%, while GWI’s worldwide weekly usage fell from 16.1% to 15.3% over the same year. Axis Intelligence Research attributes the growth to existing users borrowing more often: Affirm’s GMV per active consumer rose 13.2% in fiscal 2026.
How much will Americans spend with BNPL this holiday season?
Adobe forecasts $21.3 billion in U.S. online BNPL spending from November 1 to December 31, 2026, up 6.6%, including $1.09 billion on Cyber Monday. That is 7.74% of forecast online holiday spending, almost the same as 2025’s 7.76%, by Axis Intelligence Research’s calculation.
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