January 2026
As the holiday season fades and the decorations come down, the bills begin to arrive, and many consumers get their first clear look at what the season of merriment actually costs. One new but increasingly familiar part of that post-holiday reckoning is Buy Now, Pay Later credit. What began as a convenient way to spread out the cost of purchases has matured into a mainstream payment behavior, now sitting squarely at the intersection of consumer finance, retail strategy, and credit risk.
The BNPL Appeal
At its core, Buy Now, Pay Later is designed to feel simple. Purchases are split into equal installments, often four payments, typically with no interest as long as payments are made on time. There is no revolving balance and no compounding APR. For consumers, that predictability is the draw. For merchants, it lifts conversion and basket size. BNPL sits in a space that feels closer to budgeting than borrowing, which is precisely why adoption has accelerated.
What has changed is the scope. BNPL is no longer reserved for furniture, electronics, or holiday splurges. In some markets, consumers can put everyday purchases on installment plans, including taxi rides and lunch. The idea of financing a sandwich or tacos would have sounded absurd a few years ago. Today, it barely raises an eyebrow. That normalization matters. When short-term, interest-free credit becomes widely accepted and easy to access, usage shifts from occasional to habitual. And that shift sets the stage for the scale and complexity that now defines BNPL.
BNPL by the Numbers
Buy Now, Pay Later is no longer an emerging payment option. In December 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its most comprehensive BNPL market study to date, confirming that BNPL has become a scaled, repeat-use credit product embedded in everyday consumer spending. Tens of millions of consumers now use BNPL regularly. Loan volumes continue to reach record levels, and average usage per consumer continues to rise. What was once a checkout convenience is now a persistent, year-round payment behavior.
53.6 million U.S. consumers used Buy Now, Pay Later in a single year, with lenders originating more than 335 million BNPL loans totaling over $45 billion.
Source: CFPB, December 2025
That shift has operational consequences. BNPL usage spikes during the holidays and carries into the new year as payments come due. Customer engagement no longer ends at approval. It extends into payment management, customer support, dispute resolution, and early-stage delinquencies. While credit performance metrics have improved, the CFPB’s findings make one point clear: Managing BNPL at scale now requires far more operational precision than it did even a few years ago.
Growth Is Not the Challenge. Execution Is.
BNPL’s rapid adoption is no longer the story; execution is. As volumes scale, operational demands intensify. Repayment cycles are shorter, customer expectations are higher, and tolerance for operational friction is low, with delays or miscommunication felt immediately by customers. BNPL also serves customers across the credit spectrum, including many with limited or non-traditional credit histories, making risk signals subtler and early intervention more critical. Even well-run in-house teams can feel the strain as volumes spike.
The average BNPL user now takes out 6.3 loans per year, up from 5.7 the year prior, with average annual spend per user approaching $850, adjusted for inflation.
Source: CFPB, December 2025
Why Nearshore Works for BNPL
Despite continued volume growth, BNPL charge-off rates declined to 1.83%, the lowest level observed in the CFPB’s multi-year dataset, alongside a continued decline in late-fee incidence.
Source: CFPB, December 2025
Just as importantly, nearshore models bring resilience. Seasonal volume spikes can be absorbed without the long lead times or fixed-cost burden of purely in-house teams. Compliance requirements can be met through mature governance frameworks and experienced leadership. Performance can be managed through shared KPIs, transparent reporting, and continuous optimization. For BNPL providers navigating growth, regulation, and rising customer expectations simultaneously, nearshore is not a shortcut. It is a stabilizer.
The KM² Difference for BNPL Providers
For BNPL providers, execution is where strategies succeed or fail. This is where KM² Solutions delivers tangible value. KM² is actively supporting large-scale BNPL programs today, partnering with a leading provider across multiple countries to deliver customer support, payments servicing, and issue resolution at scale. These are live, high-volume environments where speed, accuracy, and regulatory discipline are not optional. They are required.
What sets KM² apart is disciplined execution across locations. Programs are designed with governance, compliance, and performance management at the core, then delivered consistently across nearshore markets. Teams scale quickly without sacrificing quality. Seasonal surges are anticipated, not absorbed reactively. And customer interactions are handled by agents trained to resolve issues clearly and efficiently, protecting both brand reputation and portfolio performance. As BNPL continues to evolve beyond the checkout, KM² brings proven, multi-country delivery experience to help providers scale responsibly, operate confidently, and meet rising customer expectations.
About KM² Solutions
KM² Solutions ( KM2 Solutions ) is an award-winning BPO with over two decades of experience operating an exclusive nearshore strategy throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. KM² provides outsourced inbound and outbound customer service contact services for voice, chat, email, and mobile to clients in financial services, multi-unit healthcare, insurance services, travel & hospitality, eCommerce, technology & telecommunications, home services, and other sectors. The company provides clients with a host of solutions, including customer support and care, telesales & retention, claims management & processing, appointment setting & schedule management, loan origination & verifications, back-office processing, and technical support. KM² Solutions maintains PCI DSS compliance, completes an annual SOC 2 audit, and has a Compliance Management System that meets the FDIC standards.
