‘Buy Now, Pay Later’: A New Wave of Consumer Debt

The Daily

As people in the United States struggle with rising costs, they are increasingly turning to “buy now, pay later” loans for essentials such as rent and groceries.

Stacey Cowley, a business reporter for The New York Times, explains the draw and the hidden risks of the loan model.

Guest: Stacy Cowley, a business reporter at The New York Times, with a focus on consumer finance.

Background reading: 

Photo: Amir Hamja for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


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More description

As people in the United States struggle with rising costs, they are increasingly turning to “buy now, pay later” loans for essentials such as rent and groceries.

Stacey Cowley, a business reporter for The New York Times, explains the draw and the hidden risks of the loan model.

Guest: Stacy Cowley, a business reporter at The New York Times, with a focus on consumer finance.

Background reading: 

Photo: Amir Hamja for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2026-09-08 24 min Transcript
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