Credit card: Bahut se qarzdaar apne raqam ka dabao control karne aur buland munafa daro se bachne ki mehnat mein installment loans ki taraf khinchtay hain, lekin yeh tajaweez phir bhi khatray se bhari hai.
“Buy Now, Pay Later” ki hidayat se shuru hone wale khidmaton ne alarm bajaa di hai ke istemaal karne walay ghabraye hue hain, jo ke mainly ghair murattab installment loans mein dakhil ho rahe hain, jab unke pass asal credit options khatam ho jate hain. Waise toh yeh bahut se BNPL istemal karne walon ke liye sach hai, lekin industry ke mahir ke mutabiq, bohot se log ise apne irade se istemal kar rahe hain, aur ise credit cards ka mukammal ya mukhlif dekhte hain.
Texas ki maan Savannah Thrower, jo ke 27 saal ki hain, apni credit card ke balance ko chukane ke doran kapron, jooton, makeup aur ghar ke kharchon par kharch karna ke liye “Buy Now, Pay Later” ka istemal kar rahi hai.
“Maine mehsoos kiya ke credit cards se paise kharch karna aasan ho sakta hai,” usne kaha.
Credit card: Afterpay aur PayPal se installment loans istemal karke Thrower ne kaha ke yeh uske purchases ko char barabar ke hisson mein tod dete hain, jo har do hafton mein uske bank account se kat jate hain, bina kisi sood aur dairay ke.
Usne kaha ke ab uske dost bhi isi tareeqe se kharidari karte hain, aur uske circle mein kuch log ab bhi consistent taur par credit cards ka istemal nahi karte. “Tum aisa kyun nahi karte?” usne ye bhi kaha.
Jo pehle ek martaba ke liye cheezen finance karne ka zariya tha, jese ke exercise equipment ya mattresses, woh ab izafa se popular ho raha hai. Adobe Analytics ke mutabiq “Buy Now, Pay Later” spending Cyber Monday par pichle saal se 42% zyada barh gaya tha. LexisNexis Risk Solutions, jo ke in loans ke liye credit screenings karti hai, ne paya ke 1 in 4 American adults ne kam az kam aik dafa inka istemal kiya hai.
Ye khidmaten Apple, Affirm, Klarna, Zip, Sezzle aur doosron dwara bhi di jati hain. Baray purchases ke liye ab major credit card companies bhi apne versions offer kar rahe hain, aur Affirm ne announce kiya ke woh Walmart ke self-checkout kiosks par bhi expand kar raha hai.
Istemal karne walon ke liye, ye tareeqa aksar kashish rakhta hai: “Buy Now” button dabane ke baad aur checkout mein “soft” credit screening ke liye do second se kam waqt mein, maal ya khidmat ke daam ke barabar ka ek loan approve ho jata hai. Iske muddat mein – aam taur par cheh hafton tak, jisme adaigai barabar ke waqt par ho – tab tak koi sood ya fees nahi hoti jab tak ke pura balance waqt par adaigai na ho.
Lekin asaanai sirf iska hissa hai, industry ke mahiron ke mutabiq.
“Yeh ek puri nasal ki millennials ki hai jinhon ne dekha ke maliyat ke baad kya hua, aur woh phir se us jhanjhat mein nahi padna chahte,” Affirm ke senior director of communications Matt Gross ne kaha.
Consumer bankruptcies ne us fasle ke baad izafa kiya, jiska charam 2010 mein lagbhag 1.5 million tha, jab bahut se Americans barah-e-raast qarze mein doob rahe the. Ab teenagers, 20s aur 30s mein hain jo kai saal se ghar mein mortgage aur rent payments, credit card bills aur student loans ki mukhtalif guftaguon mein bade hue hain.
LexisNexis ne paya ke zyadatar BNPL users 35 saal ya usse kam umar ke hain aur woh traditional banking customers se zyada “thick” credit footprints wale hain, jo mainstream lending ke sath bohat zyada tajurbe ko darust karte hain.
Researchers ne likha ke “Hum yeh khayal ko bhi inkar kar sakte hain ke istemal karne walay BNPL services ko aakhri raaste ki taraf morr kar jaa rahe hain kyunki unki scoring kam hai.” Aur jabke installment loans mein nonprime credit ke zyada apply karte hain, taqreeban adhe BNPL users ka prime ya near-prime score hota hai.
Gross ne kaha ke bohat se Affirm ke customers, jese ke Thrower, ise “apne cash flows ko smooth karne aur apne paise ko thoda zyada eficiently manage karne” ke liye istemal karte hain, taake unke kharch apne aamdani ke sath milay.
ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson ke mutabiq kam az kam teen factors ne BNPL ko ab khaas taur par kashish bana di hai: akhiri pandemic mein izafa, ab “all but over” hokar raha hukumat ka relief aur Federal Reserve ne interest rates ko barha diya hai, jiski wajah se credit card APRs ne 20% paar kar liya hai. Is tarah consumers ke liye, “ye ek tareeqa hai un dabaon se bachne ka” jabke woh kharch karna jari rakhte hain, unhone kaha.
Kevin King, LexisNexis Risk Solutions ke credit risk and marketing ke vice president, ne bhi yehi kaha.
“Yeh ek bohat convenient, munasib maaliyat ka samaan hai,” usne kaha, jab ke bohat se consumers ab bhi unchi keematon aur phir shuru hone wale student loan payments ke dabaon mein frustrated hain, lekin “is mein faide aur nuksan hain.”
BNPL companies customers ko phir bhi debt collections mein bhej sakti hain ya hamesha ke liye unko nikal sakti hain nonpayment ki wajah se. (Zyadatar merchants se transaction fees milte hain, jo delinquent customers ko rakhne aur unse sood aur jurmana lenay ki zarurat nahi padti, King ne kaha.) Companies universally credit agencies ko report nahi karti hain, aur jab ke payments miss karna ab bhi istemal karne wale ki credit score par