Buy Now Pay Later Usage Surges as New Products Proliferate, JD Power Finds

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TROY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 12, 2026--

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) adoption continues to grow rapidly, with 37% of consumers in the United States making a purchase using this method in the past 90 days, a 5-percentage-point increase in just one year. According to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Buy Now Pay Later Satisfaction Study, SM released today, as BNPL use matures and providers continue to launch new products, customers are increasingly using it to manage their day-to-day spending.

“The 2026 study shows sustained and rapid growth of BNPL, driven largely by increased use of services offered by FinTech providers. When it comes to overall satisfaction, however, the traditional financial institutions are delivering a much more positive user experience,” said Sean Gelles, senior director of banking and payments at JD Power. “This signals an enormous opportunity for traditional financial institutions. Customers are looking for BNPL solutions from the brands they already know and trust.”

Following are some of the key findings of the 2026 study:

• Customer satisfaction rises sharply for bank brands: Though bank-branded BNPL services still represent just a fraction of total BNPL spending, the average overall customer satisfaction score for bank-based BNPL services is 704 (on a 1,000-point scale), up 59 points from last year’s study. By contrast, customer satisfaction with FinTech BNPL brands is 603, which is down 17 points from last year.
• Checkout/point-of-sale opportunity for bank brands: Among customers using a BNPL service associated with their credit card, 52% make the decision to use a fixed payment plan after the purchase has already been made while 48% make the decision at the time of purchase, indicating an opportunity for bank brands that can build installment plans into the checkout/point-of-sale experience.
• Most customers pay off BNPL in four installments, using debit cards: The “pay in four” installment schedule is by far the most common BNPL format used, with 82% of FinTech customers and 73% of bank customers paying off their purchases in four equal installments. Debit cards are the most widely used form of payment, with 64% of FinTech customers linking their BNPL payments to a debit card.

Study Rankings

Chase ranks highest in BNPL satisfaction, with a score of 706. Plan It by American Express (703) ranks second and Citi Flex Pay (687) ranks third.

To access the official release and complete visual rank charts, visit: http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2026014.

The U.S. Buy Now Pay Later Satisfaction Study, now in its fourth year, is a module of the core JD Power Checkout and Point of Sale Choice Study. SM Its sister modules are the JD Power Debit Card Satisfaction Study SM and JD Power Digital Wallet Satisfaction Study. SM The 2026 Buy Now Pay Later Satisfaction Study captures the responses of 3,909 customers, and was fielded from January 2025 – January 2026.

For more information about the JD Power Checkout and Point of Sale Choice Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/consumer-payments-satisfaction-studies.

About JD Power

JD Power delivers mission-critical data, analytics and intelligence that help businesses improve customer experience and operational performance with confidence and clarity. Using proprietary, comprehensive data–including millions of consumer interactions and authoritative automotive datasets–combined with advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and deep industry expertise, JD Power enables leaders to respond to market shifts, make smarter decisions and drive measurable performance improvements.

As an objective source of deep insight into real-world customer interactions with brands and products, JD Power provides the independent intelligence organizations need to anticipate change, strengthen customer engagement and advance growth. Learn more at JDPower.com.

About JD Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules:www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260312641190/en/

CONTACT: Media Relations ContactsJoe LaMuraglia, JD Power; East Coast; 714-621-6224; [email protected]

John Roderick; East Coast; 631-584-2200; [email protected]

KEYWORD: MICHIGAN UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: DATA ANALYTICS OTHER RETAIL PAYMENTS FINANCE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TECHNOLOGY FINTECH RETAIL

SOURCE: JD Power

Copyright Business Wire 2026.

PUB: 03/12/2026 08:00 AM/DISC: 03/12/2026 08:00 AM

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