Inside the new era of ‘buy now, pay later’

You’ve seen the little buttons right next to your ‘checkout’ box when you’re shopping online. Would you like to break this payment up into four or six instalments, with no interest? With no interest? It’s tempting.

As online shopping skyrocketed during the pandemic, so did the new way to buy now and pay later, with companies like PayBright or Sezzle receiving increasing amounts of business.

Kelsey Rolfe, is a Toronto-based writer, and the author of The Dangers of Using Buy Now, Pay Later for Canadian Business.

“For traditional financing you go usually need to through a fairly rigorous application, you undergo a credit check, but most buy now, pay later plans you’re going to get approved very quickly,” she said.

But what’s the catch? Why offer no-interest loans? What do you need to know about how this business works, and what’s coming next?

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