Buy now pay later services as a way to pay: credit consumption and the depoliticization of debt

Abstract

The use of buy now pay later (BNPL) services has grown rapidly in recent years. Existing research has considered the regulatory challenges they pose, but further work is required to map their significance as a means of normalizing and naturalizing debt. In response, this article focuses on the situated landscape of marketing and branding of BNPL services through analysis of their websites and apps, a walking ethnography of a large shopping centre, and interviews with BNPL customers. We find that BNPL services nurture a “structure of feeling” that is reminiscent of digitally intimate online spaces, and claim that by generating a sense of pleasure and fun they distinguish themselves from other comparatively “serious” financial services. We ultimately contend that this aids them in presenting themselves as simply a “way to pay” rather than a form of credit, arguing that this represents a significant new step in the depoliticization of debt.