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Hey everybody, it's Marielle.
Have you seen that Pay in installments option when you go to pay for something online?
It's called Buy Now Pay Later.
If you're not familiar,
Buy Now Pay later loans are a service offered by financial technology companies like Klarna,
afterpay and Affirm.
These loans are an alternative to credit cards, another way to borrow money to buy something.
Though unlike with a credit card, when you use Buy Now Pay later,
you typically won't pay interest on your purchases.
Retailers partner with these Buy Now Pay later companies to offer you this service because,
well, they think having this option will encourage you to buy more stuff.
And there's evidence that it will.
Buy Now Pay later loans are popular, by the way.
At this point, one in five shoppers has used them to make a purchase,
according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.