Buy Now, Pay Later & Gen Z: Convenience or Consequence
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- Author:
- Roy, Rohan
- Area of Honors:
- Finance
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Brian Spangler Davis, Thesis Supervisor
Brian Spangler Davis, Thesis Honors Advisor
Stefan M Lewellen, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- FinTech
BNPL
Finance
Gen Z - Abstract:
- Buy Now, Pay Later has become one of the more disruptive financial innovations of the past decade, yet we still do not fully understand how it affects younger consumers’ finances. This thesis takes a deeper look into whether BNPL functions as a budgeting convenience or a substitute for credit for Gen Z consumers in the United States. Using both, academic literature and nationally representative data from the Federal Reserve, I found that BNPL adoption among Gen Z is concentrated among lower-income consumers, that a significant share of Gen Z users report relying on the product because it was the only way they could afford their most recent purchase, and that Gen Z users miss payments at nearly three times the rate of the oldest cohort. Overall, the evidence suggests that for Gen Z consumers who are already financially struggling, BNPL is less about convenience or flexibility and more closely tied to financial strain.
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