Buy now, pay later (BNPL) systems expand financial inclusion, but may contribute to consumers becoming overextended, researchers with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York find. Individuals with low incomes are more likely to be offered and more likely to use buy now, pay later.

“The fact that a disproportionate share of buy now, pay later users are already financially fragile raises questions about the resilience of buy now, pay later lending and its performance following an adverse economic