Buy now, pay later loans used to be for splurges. Now, lenders are pitching them to cover rent, electricity, and other bills you can't skip.

Why it matters: Financing a recurring bill doesn't make it go away — it just turns today's shortfall into a payment obligation next month, on top of whatever bill comes due next.

By the numbers:

• BNPL providers issued roughly $157 billion in credit in 2025, according to a Federal Reserve analysis — with "pay in 4" plans making up half of that and other short- and longer-term installment loans making up the rest.

• "Pay in 4" volume alone is up nearly 80% since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's last full measurement in 2023 ($43.9 billion).

• About 63% of all BNPL credit issued carries 0% APR; the remaining 37% charges interest, in some cases up to 36% APR on longer-term loans.

• Separately, a 2026 LendingTree survey found 54% of BNPL users say they couldn't make ends meet without it — rising to 62% among parents of kids under 18.

State of play: The lending apps Flex and Zip now let customers finance broadband, electricity, health insurance, mobile phone service, mortgage, and water bills. Affirm has started offering some tenants short-term loans to stretch out rent payments by a few weeks. Intuit is promoting "File Now, Pay Later" loans to TurboTax users who owe money on their taxes.

Zoom in: "The loans address the real need that people are short of funds, but just adding fees to their monthly budget and leaving them short next week is not the answer," said Lauren Saunders, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.

What this means for you: If you're considering a pay-later loan for a bill you'd normally pay outright, it's worth asking what happens next month once that installment is due on top of your regular expenses. A missed BNPL payment can also come with late fees or, increasingly, an effect on your credit file. Before financing a recurring bill, map out your full month of due dates first — you may find the real problem is timing (a bill lands before payday) rather than a shortfall you need another loan to solve. Copiafy's bill tracker can show you that full picture in one place.

Bottom line: Pay-later loans were built for discretionary purchases. Increasingly, they're being used to plug gaps in survival expenses — and that's a different kind of risk.

Sources: Federal Reserve: "'Buy Now, Pay Later' Beyond 'Pay in 4,' A Comprehensive Product Overview" (FEDS Notes, June 5, 2026); The New York Times: "'Buy Now, Pay Later' Lenders Pitch Loans for Needs Like Electricity and Rent"; National Consumer Law Center: Featured coverage with Lauren Saunders