Over the past couple of years, major U.S. retailers, including Costco, Walmart, Target, and Amazon, have started offering shoppers a buy now, pay later (BNPL) option through services like Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, and PayPal Pay Later. These companies essentially provide a short-term loan to buy whatever you want without having to pay for it in full, instead making several payments over time.

American consumers are so taken with buy now, pay later plans that they are surging this holiday shopping season, The Washington Post reports. “The services have driven $10.1 billion in spending, a 9 percent jump from last year, according to Adobe Analytics,” they wrote.

“Cyber Monday was the single largest day for BNPL, accounting for a record $1.03 billion, a more than 4 percent increase over last

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