{"id":3711951,"date":"2026-05-11T04:03:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/?post_type=study_posts&#038;p=3711951"},"modified":"2026-05-10T23:25:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T03:25:21","slug":"one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals","status":"publish","type":"study_posts","link":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year In: What The Pay Later Data Actually Reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When the <b><strong>Pay Later Ecosystem<\/strong><\/b> series launched in April 2025, buy now, pay later was dominating the consumer lending narrative. The payment method had already taken a big chunk of the market, and many new providers were entering the space with products targeting younger, digital-first consumers. To many, BNPL\u2019s further rise looked certain.<\/p>\n<p>But that isn\u2019t what happened. Traditional card issuers started taking the threat more seriously. They leaned into installment features already built into their cards and capitalized on something BNPL couldn\u2019t replicate: decades of incumbency and existing customer relationships. PYMNTS Intelligence research shows that roughly twice as many consumers used credit card installment plans as BNPL in the last year, and crucially, that gap didn\u2019t narrow over time. That means BNPL held its ground against the industry giants\u2014but it also hit a ceiling.<\/p>\n<p>Even in the segments it was built to win, BNPL is running into that ceiling. Younger consumers, who were expected to lead adoption, have consistently used credit card installment plans at roughly two times the BNPL rate. This includes 47% of Gen Z who used card installment plans versus 23% for BNPL in the latest survey. Meanwhile, consumers earning less than $50,000 per year use BNPL far less frequently than those with high incomes, despite the product\u2019s original focus on expanding access. Together, these trends suggest that existing financial relationships and familiarity with card-based products shape the adoption of the payment method more than a financial need in a tightening economy.<\/p>\n<p>These are just some of the findings detailed in \u201c<b><strong>One Year In: What The Pay Later Data Actually Reveals<\/strong><\/b>,\u201d a <b><strong>PYMNTS Intelligence<\/strong><\/b> exclusive report. This edition of the <b><strong>Pay Later Ecosystem Report<\/strong><\/b> is based on eight waves of surveys conducted from April 2025 to March 2026, each with approximately 2,500 U.S. consumer respondents. It examines consumer use of two key Pay Later tools\u2014BNPL and credit card installment plans\u2014and how their underlying preferences are shifting in early 2026.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#first_title\"> Key Findings<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#second_title\">Closing the Pay Later Gap<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#third_title\"> Younger Consumers Play Hard to Get<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#fourth_title\"> The High-Income Surprise<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#fifth_title\"> The Recurring Expense Mismatch<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#sixth_title\"> Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#seventh_title\"> Read More<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#eighth_title\"> Methodology<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<div class=\"d-flex flex-wrap flex-lg-nowrap rounded-4 py-4 px-5 align-items-center mt-5 mb-5 justify-content-center justify-content-lg-start\" style=\"background: #e0e0e0;\">\n<div class=\"flex-grow-1 ms-3 ps-3\">\n<figure>\n<h2><strong>What is Pay Later?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote mb-4\">\n<h4 class=\"fs-light\">The \u201cPay Later\u201d ecosystem of consumer credit includes the following payment options that allow shoppers to partially pay for a good or service at the point of sale and extend the remaining balance:<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote><figcaption class=\"fs-5\" style=\"content: none;\">\u2022 Credit cards<br \/>\n\u2022 Credit card installment plans<br \/>\n\u2022 Private-label (store-branded) cards<br \/>\n\u2022 Store-branded card installment plans<br \/>\n\u2022 Buy now, pay later (BNPL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"first_title\" class=\"lh-sm fw-bold\">Key Findings<\/h2>\n<h4 class=\"lh-sm\">BNPL woke up the competition but couldn\u2019t match the built-in advantages of credit cards.<\/h4>\n<p>Card installment plans led BNPL roughly 2-to-1 across all eight surveys over the last year.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"lh-sm\">Younger consumers choose credit card installment plans over BNPL.<\/h4>\n<p>Gen Z, millennials and bridge millennials used credit card installment plans at roughly 1.8 to 2.5 times the BNPL rate in every wave.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"lh-sm\">BNPL aims at younger, credit-constrained consumers, but high earners use it most.<\/h4>\n<p>Consumers earning $150K or more used BNPL at roughly twice the rate of those earning less than $50K.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"lh-sm\">BNPL was designed for planned purchases. When consumers use it only for essentials, three in four pay late.<\/h4>\n<p>This is nearly double the late payment rate for those who use it strictly for occasional or one-time purchases.<\/p>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"second_title\" class=\"lh-sm fw-bold\">Closing the Pay Later Gap<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"lh-sm\">BNPL woke up the competition but couldn\u2019t match the built-in advantages of credit card installment plans.<\/h3>\n<p>BNPL providers had big ambitions. They aimed to take the lead in installment lending, particularly among younger consumers. That disruption has yet to materialize, although BNPL has carved out a slice of the market. Between April 2025 and March 2026, we estimate that more than twice as many consumers paid with credit card installment plans as with BNPL. Crucially, that ratio held steady throughout the year, meaning BNPL didn\u2019t gain ground in the last 12 months.<\/p>\n<p>In large part, this is a story about incumbency. Card issuers didn\u2019t need to introduce new products to compete with BNPL. Instead, they began to more aggressively promote installment plan capabilities already embedded in existing credit offerings. For existing cardholders, that means minimal friction: no need for a new account or even a credit application. BNPL providers, by contrast, often require each of those steps. This structural advantage for card issuers has so far proven unbeatable.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-9MQgg\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Credit card installments versus BNPL over time\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/9MQgg\/2\/\" height=\"530\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Line chart\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"third_title\" class=\"lh-sm fw-bold\">Younger Consumers Play Hard to Get<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"lh-sm\">Younger consumers choose credit card installment plans over BNPL.<\/h3>\n<p>Gen Z, millennials and bridge millennials used credit card installment plans at roughly 1.8 to 2.5 times the BNPL rate in every wave.<\/p>\n<p>BNPL\u2019s growth narrative has centered on younger consumers. The assumption was that Gen Z and millennials\u2014who are less attached to traditional credit cards and more comfortable with app-based financial tools\u2014would make BNPL their default installment option. Yet that has not played out.<\/p>\n<p>The latest survey shows that nearly half of Gen Z consumers (47%) used credit card installment plans in the last 90 days, versus 23% for BNPL. The numbers for millennials and bridge millennials\u2014the crossover of older millennials and younger Gen X\u2014are nearly identical. Looking back over the last year, consumers in each age group have used card installment plans at about twice the rate of BNPL.<\/p>\n<p>If this sounds like the overall card installment plan versus BNPL trend discussed above, you\u2019re paying attention. And that means BNPL has struggled to break through with its most important targets.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-PQV5s\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Usage by core age groups: Gen Z, millennials and bridge millennials\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/PQV5s\/2\/\" height=\"619\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Line chart\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"fourth_title\" class=\"lh-sm fw-bold\">The High-income Surprise<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"lh-sm\">BNPL aims at credit-constrained consumers, but high earners use it most.<\/h3>\n<p>BNPL launched with a focus on financial inclusion. It would extend credit access to many that the traditional card system had left out, including younger and lower-income consumers without established credit histories. The product&#8217;s design reflected that logic by offering approval at checkout with a simple application and no credit card required.<\/p>\n<p>But a full year of data reveals that BNPL hasn\u2019t exactly taken off with the lower-income segment. Our latest survey shows that just 10% of consumers with annual household incomes of less than $50,000 used BNPL in the past 90 days. Each wave before has returned similar results, with expected month-to-month fluctuation. Notably, BNPL use doesn\u2019t climb that much in the $50,000 to $100,000 bracket, coming in at 12% in March.<\/p>\n<p>High-income consumers are a different story entirely. In our latest wave, BNPL use jumps to 18% for households in the $100,000 to $150,000 range, and even higher to 20% for those annually earning more than $150,000. Across previous surveys, the high-versus-low income gap was similarly large. These findings indicate that BNPL often functions less as an access tool and more as a spending optimization strategy.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-NURto\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"BNPL use by household income\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/NURto\/2\/\" height=\"513\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Line chart\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"fifth_title\" class=\"lh-sm fw-bold\">The Recurring Expense Mismatch<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"lh-sm\">BNPL was designed for planned purchases. When consumers use it only for essentials, three in four pay late.<\/h3>\n<p>BNPL was designed for discrete, one-time purchases with a clear repayment schedule. But many consumers are using it for basics such as groceries and recurring expenses, including utilities and subscriptions, meaning costs with no natural endpoint. When a fixed installment plan is layered onto a recurring obligation, payment timing quickly breaks down.<\/p>\n<p>The data reflects that mismatch. In our latest survey, 76% of consumers who used BNPL for essentials in the last 90 days report paying late at least once during that period. For those using BNPL strictly for one-time or discretionary purchases, the late payment rate drops to 43%. The gap has been roughly the same across all eight survey waves, at approximately 30 percentage points, highlighting a persistent structural difference. BNPL works best for planned and discretionary purchases, and becomes much harder to manage when used to cover ongoing expenses.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-ZxipK\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Late payment rate among BNPL users\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/ZxipK\/3\/\" height=\"552\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Line chart\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"sixth_title\" class=\"lh-sm fw-bold\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>A year of data shows that BNPL has held its ground against credit card installment plans but has been unable to expand its market share. That remains true even among younger consumers and lower-income groups, segments where BNPL was expected to gain the most traction. Ultimately, the incumbency of card issuers, grounded in their access to existing customer relationships, gives credit card installment products a massive advantage that BNPL providers will be unable to challenge anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"seventh_title\" class=\"lh-sm fw-bold\">Read More<\/h2>\n<p>PYMNTS Intelligence is the leading provider of information on the trends driving innovation in finance, banking and digital payments. To stay up to date, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/subscribe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">subscribe to our newsletters<\/a> and read our in-depth reports.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/financing-the-decision-how-bnpl-and-installments-reshape-merchant-choice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Financing The Decision How: BNPL and Installments Reshape Merchant Choice<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/speed-vs-strategy-how-consumers-choose-between-bnpl-and-card-installments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Speed vs. Strategy: How Consumers Choose Between BNPL and Card Installments<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/buy-now-pay-later-powers-the-experience-economy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buy Now, Pay Later Powers the Experience Economy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[branded_divider]<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"eighth_title\" class=\"lh-sm fw-bold\">Methodology<\/h2>\n<p>\u201c<b><strong>One Year In: What the Pay Later Data Actually Reveals<\/strong><\/b>\u201d is the latest installment of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/series\/the-pay-later-ecosystem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><strong>Pay Later Ecosystem<\/strong><\/b><\/a> series, a <b><strong>PYMNTS Intelligence<\/strong><\/b> exclusive series. The report is based on a survey of approximately 2,500 U.S. adult consumers, launched in April 2025 and conducted monthly from September 2025 through March 2026.<\/p>\n<p>This report examines consumer use of BNPL and credit card installment plans across generational cohorts, household income and purchase types. The sample was balanced to match the U.S. adult population by age, gender, education and income.<\/p>\n<p><em>Note: The April 2025 survey wave used wording that did not distinguish general-purpose card installments from store card installments. This may understate the adoption of credit card installment plans in that wave relative to subsequent waves. All other waves used consistent, differentiated question wording.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3719373,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","pymnts_footnotes":""},"categories":[54690,154928],"tags":[48452,4954,156531,13328,53940,55042,9206,32202,67958,155059,67601,133069,62117],"class_list":["post-3711951","study_posts","type-study_posts","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buy-now-pay-later","category-pymnts-data-lab","tag-buy-now-pay-later","tag-consumer-spending","tag-featured-insights","tag-featured-news","tag-installment-payments","tag-installment-plans","tag-news","tag-pay-later","tag-payments-intelligence","tag-pymnts-data-lab","tag-pymnts-intelligence","tag-pymnts-news","tag-pymnts-study","series-the-pay-later-ecosystem"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pay Later: Credit Card Installment Plans Lead as BNPL Hits Ceiling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"PYMNTS intelligence reports show that credit card installment plans beat BNPL as younger shoppers and high earners reshape Pay Later use.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One Year In: What The Pay Later Data Actually Reveals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PYMNTS.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/One-Year-In-What-The-Pay-Later-Data-Actually-Reveals-hero.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pymnts\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pay Later: Credit Card Installment Plans Lead as BNPL Hits Ceiling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/One-Year-In-What-The-Pay-Later-Data-Actually-Reveals-hero.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T08:03:44+00:00\",\"description\":\"PYMNTS intelligence reports show that credit card installment plans beat BNPL as younger shoppers and high earners reshape Pay Later use.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/One-Year-In-What-The-Pay-Later-Data-Actually-Reveals-hero.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/One-Year-In-What-The-Pay-Later-Data-Actually-Reveals-hero.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Cover image for the May 2026 edition of the PYMNTS Intelligence Pay Later Ecosystem Report. PYMNTS intelligence reports show that credit card installment plans beat BNPL as younger shoppers and high earners reshape Pay Later use.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Studies (HTML)\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/study_posts\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"One Year In: What The Pay Later Data Actually Reveals\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"PYMNTS.com\",\"description\":\"The latest global news and analysis in payments, retail, fintech, financial services and the digital economy.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PYMNTS\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/PYMNTS_2023_logo_black-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/PYMNTS_2023_logo_black-1.png\",\"width\":3329,\"height\":687,\"caption\":\"PYMNTS\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pymnts.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pymnts\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/pymnts\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pay Later: Credit Card Installment Plans Lead as BNPL Hits Ceiling","description":"PYMNTS intelligence reports show that credit card installment plans beat BNPL as younger shoppers and high earners reshape Pay Later use.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"One Year In: What The Pay Later Data Actually Reveals","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/","og_site_name":"PYMNTS.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts\/","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/One-Year-In-What-The-Pay-Later-Data-Actually-Reveals-hero.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@pymnts","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/","name":"Pay Later: Credit Card Installment Plans Lead as BNPL Hits Ceiling","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/One-Year-In-What-The-Pay-Later-Data-Actually-Reveals-hero.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-11T08:03:44+00:00","description":"PYMNTS intelligence reports show that credit card installment plans beat BNPL as younger shoppers and high earners reshape Pay Later use.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/One-Year-In-What-The-Pay-Later-Data-Actually-Reveals-hero.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/One-Year-In-What-The-Pay-Later-Data-Actually-Reveals-hero.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"caption":"Cover image for the May 2026 edition of the PYMNTS Intelligence Pay Later Ecosystem Report. PYMNTS intelligence reports show that credit card installment plans beat BNPL as younger shoppers and high earners reshape Pay Later use."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Studies (HTML)","item":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/study_posts\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"One Year In: What The Pay Later Data Actually Reveals"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/","name":"PYMNTS.com","description":"The latest global news and analysis in payments, retail, fintech, financial services and the digital economy.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#organization","name":"PYMNTS","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PYMNTS_2023_logo_black-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PYMNTS_2023_logo_black-1.png","width":3329,"height":687,"caption":"PYMNTS"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pymnts\/","https:\/\/x.com\/pymnts"]}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/pymnts.com\/study_posts\/one-year-in-what-the-pay-later-data-actually-reveals\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":[],"rendered":"","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/pymnts.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study_posts\/3711951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study_posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/study_posts"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study_posts\/3711951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3719383,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study_posts\/3711951\/revisions\/3719383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3719373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3711951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3711951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3711951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}