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“Buy Now, Pay Later” Beyond “Pay in 4”, A Comprehensive Product Overview, Accessible Data
Figure 1. BNPL Company Estimated Market Shares
Percent
(a). “Pay in 4” Loans
| Company | Share |
|---|---|
| Affirm | 8% |
| Afterpay/Block | 38% |
| Klarna | 9% |
| PayPal | 32% |
| Sezzle | 5% |
| Zip | 8% |
Percent
(b). Total Credit Issuance
| Company | Share |
|---|---|
| Affirm | 26% |
| Afterpay/Block | 34% |
| Klarna | 15% |
| PayPal | 17% |
| Sezzle | 3% |
| Zip | 5% |
Notes: This figure shows the 2025 estimated BNPL company market shares in terms of “pay in 4” and total credit issuance.
Source: Authors’ calculation using information either directly retrieved or derived from the sources detailed in Table 1.
Figure 2. BNPL Company Annual Issuance by Loan Characteristics
Billions $
(a) Annual Issuance by Loan Type
| Year | “Pay in 4” | Longer-term Installment Loans | Other Short-term Installment Loans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2.2 | 5.9 | 1.5 |
| 2020 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 2.6 |
| 2021 | 25.5 | 14.4 | 3.8 |
| 2022 | 33.4 | 19.9 | 6.4 |
| 2023 | 43.9 | 25.8 | 10.8 |
| 2024 | 65.8 | 34.1 | 16 |
| 2025 | 78.3 | 47.1 | 31.2 |
Billions $
(b) Annual Issuance by Loan Cost
| Year | 0% APR Loans | APR-bearing Loans |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6.7 | 2.9 |
| 2020 | 16.8 | 3.5 |
| 2021 | 36.4 | 7.2 |
| 2022 | 46 | 13.7 |
| 2023 | 57.7 | 22.8 |
| 2024 | 82.8 | 33 |
| 2025 | 98.7 | 58 |
Notes: This figure shows the estimated annual BNPL company issuance by loan type and cost. Virtually all "pay in 4" loans in panel (a) are interest-free and fall into the 0% APR category in panel (b), but some of the short- and longer-term installment loans in panel (a) are APR-bearing and some are 0% APR loans in panel (b), leading to the discrepancy in the levels between the two figures. Key identifies series in order from bottom to top.
Source: The "pay in 4" values for 2019 through 2023 are retrieved from a CFPB report (PDF). The "pay in 4" estimates for 2024 and 2025 and the short- and longer-term installment loan estimates are based on authors' calculations using information either directly retrieved or derived from the sources detailed in Table 1.