But, while Abbie found splitting payments for a big purchase helpful, she expresses concern about the way some of the BNPL businesses advertise their services. “They glamourise it so much, especially when you’re able to use it for any amount. You could say that’s a good thing as it makes products accessible, but it can come with the very real cost of getting people onto the slippery slope of debt.”

This is a sentiment that Poppy, 24, echoes. “I understand there’s an element of personal responsibility, but the way these companies advertise makes it seem like anything is affordable when it’s not,” she says. “If I can’t afford something now, who can say whether I’ll be able to in a month’s time? Things add up so quickly when you can use BNPL for a £20 takeaway order.”

Poppy also expresses concern that some BNPL services don’t make it clear that until every instalment is cleared, you have committed to a loan that can lead to debt if it is not paid back on time. “We normalise the use of these services but, like a credit card, it has to be paid back in full to avoid being in debt,” she says. I know people who spend hundreds via BNPL every month, and they’re stuck in a cycle of debt when payments are due.”

The people that Poppy knows who are getting into debt after using BNPL certainly aren’t anomalies. Debt advice platform MoneyPlus reports that 41% of its new customers have BNPL debts, with the average user on the platform holding 2.4 BNPL debts in January 2024, up from 1.3 the previous year. Debt charity StepChange has also seen an increasing number of people approaching it for advice about this type of debt and takes issue with how BNPL schemes advertise their services. “Because BNPL is unregulated, affordability checks and rules around marketing are not consistent, which puts consumers at risk if they may be borrowing more than they can afford,” explains Simon Trevethick, head of communications at StepChange. “BNPL can often be heavily marketed to shoppers at the checkout, not giving them due time to consider whether they’re in a position to take out credit or the repercussions of missing repayments.”

So, what is driving us to use these schemes, are they affordable and what can be done if you’ve found yourself in debt because of them? I spoke with experts to find out.

Buy now, pay later schemes are becoming increasingly popular, but can people afford them?