Buy Now, Pay Later & Gen Z: Convenience or ConsequenceRoy, Rohan FinTechBNPLFinanceGen ZFinanceB SBuy 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.Brian Spangler Davis, Thesis SupervisorBrian Spangler Davis, Thesis Honors AdvisorStefan M Lewellen, Faculty Readerrestricted_to_institution2026-04-07T20:08:10Zhttps://honors.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/10072rjr6066