Almost one-quarter of UK buy now, pay later users have been charged late repayment fees, with younger consumers hit hardest, according to research that points to how people have turned to the unregulated form of credit to cope with rising living costs.
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) products allow shoppers to pay for clothes and food delivery shops, for example, in mainly interest-free weekly or monthly instalments.
The payment method, where users are charged if they repay loans late, has increased in popularity over the past year, in part because it enables users to avoid shelling out on goods in full and upfront. But regulators and consumer groups have voiced concerns over the risk of indebtedness.