Millions of Americans are now paying their rent and grocery bills with buy now, pay later loans, a shift that used to be reserved for sneakers and flat-screen TVs.
Quick Take
- Sixteen percent of all U.S. adults used buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans in 2025, according to the Federal Reserve.
- Federal Reserve estimates put total BNPL originations near $160 billion last year.
- Surveys show growing use of these loans for rent, groceries, utilities, and medical bills.
- Lenders like Affirm and Flex now offer products built specifically to split rent payments.
A Credit Product Built For Sneakers Now Covers Rent
Buy now, pay later loans started as a checkout button for online shopping. Shoppers split a purchase into a few payments, often interest-free, and walked away with their item right away.
The Federal Reserve describes this basic setup as letting consumers “immediately own or access a good or service while spreading out its cost”. That convenience has now spread far beyond retail.
The numbers show how fast this happened. The Federal Reserve says BNPL usage has grown strongly in both loan count and dollar volume every year since 2019.
By 2025, 16 percent of all American adults had used one of these loans, and a separate Federal Reserve analysis estimated that providers originated close to $160 billion in BNPL credit that same year.
That is a massive sum for a product many people still associate with splitting a $200 purchase into four payments. It signals BNPL has quietly become a mainstream form of short-term consumer credit, not a niche gimmick.
Rent, Groceries And Medical Bills Enter The Picture
Financial firms are now actively marketing BNPL loans as a way to cover essential expenses, including “rent, groceries, electricity bills and even medical costs”.
That marks a real change from the product’s original purpose. Survey data backs this up directly, with 23 percent of respondents saying they used a BNPL loan for medical, dental, or veterinary expenses, or for rent.
A separate survey found similar patterns. Thirteen percent of BNPL users said they used a loan specifically to pay rent, while 18 percent used one for car repairs or maintenance.
These are not small, isolated cases. They point to a broader habit forming among consumers who need flexibility to cover recurring, non-negotiable bills.
Lenders Are Building Products Just For Rent
The shift toward essentials is not accidental. Companies are designing products around it. Affirm launched a pilot program allowing renters to split monthly rent into two installments through a partnership with Esusu Pay. Flex, another lender, offers loans that let customers split rent, utilities, phone, internet, and car payments into smaller amounts.
These pilots show the rent-focused BNPL market is already operating, not just theoretical. Whether it becomes the typical way Americans pay rent is a separate question that the current data does not fully answer, since survey figures often blend rent with other categories like medical bills rather than cleanly isolating it.
Still, the direction is clear enough. A product once used to finance discretionary purchases is increasingly used to cover survival costs. That distinction matters. Splitting a couch payment into four installments is a convenience.
Splitting a rent payment into installments because the full amount is not available on the first of the month is more of a warning sign about household cash flow.
People are turning to BNPL loans to pay for rent, food and other necessities. Now, financial firms are also pushing the loans as a means for people to cover essential expenses. https://t.co/MnD940MaLD
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 2, 2026
Why This Deserves Scrutiny, Not Just Coverage
Americans have long argued that easy credit dressed up as convenience can mask deeper economic strain, and this trend fits that pattern.
If families need installment loans to cover rent and groceries, that points to household budgets stretched thin by inflation and stagnant wages, not to a clever new financial tool. Lawmakers and regulators should watch this closely rather than assume growth in usage equals a healthy market.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau already oversees parts of the BNPL market, but oversight has not kept pace with how these loans are now used for necessities.
Clear disclosure rules and credit reporting standards would help consumers understand what they are actually signing up for when they split a rent payment instead of paying it in full.
Sources:
cbsnews.com, cnbc.com, federalreserve.gov, richmondfed.org
