Buy Now, Pay Later

Behind the checkout, the installment plan is standing again. Klarna, started in 2005 by three Stockholm students — the first transaction was at a bookshop — spread «pay in four» across the world, taking its fee not from the consumer but from the merchant (57 per cent of total revenue in 2024). In the United States, Max Levchin, co-founder of PayPal, built Affirm in 2012 — motivated by his own student years of debt and a long-damaged credit score. In Japan, Paidy from 2014, bought by PayPal for $2.7 billion in 2021. The industry calls this model «the return of the installment plan» — GMAC of 1919 stands next door in this very band. Go further back and «use first, pay later» is the medicine chest itself. A very old promise with a new face. And the shadow returned with it: over debt concerns, the US classed BNPL with credit cards in 2024 and the UK brought it under regulation from 2026. The look the installment plan drew a century ago is now directed at BNPL.