Buy Now, Pay Later Is Coming to Your Credit Report

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, offered by companies like Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay, have become a popular way to spread out payments on purchases. These short-term loans allow customers to split payments over several weeks, often with no interest. 

While BNPL has made shopping more flexible, it’s now becoming a more visible part of your credit profile.

BNPL Loans Will Soon Affect Your Credit Report

Historically, most BNPL loans were not reported to credit bureaus. That meant on-time payments didn’t help build credit, and lenders couldn’t see how much short-term debt a consumer had. This is starting to change.

Experian has started including BNPL data from Affirm, while Equifax and TransUnion are developing their own frameworks. As more providers begin sharing data, everyday purchases may start influencing your credit in new ways.

What This Means for Your Credit

Most BNPL loans still don’t impact your credit score directly. But that may not be the case for much longer.

A FICO-Affirm study found that most consumers experienced score changes of fewer than 10 points. Meanwhile, Equifax reported an average increase of 13 points for borrowers who paid BNPL loans on time. 

It is also important to note that BNPL loans are typically short-term. When these accounts close, they may reduce the average age of your credit accounts—potentially lowering your score under certain models. As a result, credit scoring systems like FICO and VantageScore are proceeding cautiously in how they incorporate this data.

How Each Credit Bureau is Handling BNPL

Each of the three major credit bureaus is taking a slightly different approach. 

Experian is creating a dedicated BNPL bureau to track loan activity in real time. While this data won’t affect your core credit score for now, it may still visible to lenders.

TransUnion is working with scoring model developers and expects BNPL loans to appear on credit files without immediately impacting scores.. Updates will occur bi-weekly.

Equifax began accepting BNPL data in early 2025. Depending on how the lender reports it, these loans may appear as installment or revolving credit. In some cases, they may already factor into your score.

What It Means for You

As BNPL loans become a regular part of your credit history, it’s important to treat them just like any form of credit. That means:

• Paying on time to avoid negative marks
• Keeping track of all open BNPL accounts
• Avoiding too many simultaneous loans that could raise flags with lenders

Even if your credit score doesn’t reflect BNPL activity yet, lenders may still view your borrowing behavior when making decisions.

How RentReporters Can Help

As the credit landscape shifts to include new types of data, traditional factors, especially payment history, remain important as ever.

That’s where RentReporters comes in. We help renters strengthen their credit by reporting on-time rent payments to all three major credit bureaus. It’s a simple, consistent way to improve your credit without taking on new debt or applying for more credit lines.

In a world where more financial activity is being tracked, making sure your responsible habits, like paying rent, are recognized is more important than ever.