Purchase Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is reshaping how credit score works. And as of April 1, 2025, it’s beginning to present up in your credit score report.
Affirm now experiences all BNPL loans to Experian, a transfer the corporate says will “assist shoppers construct their credit score histories and higher handle their funds.”
However not everybody agrees this can be a good concept. Klarna, for instance, doesn’t report U.S. BNPL exercise, arguing that credit score bureaus “do not need correct fashions to responsibly course of the information.”
So, what’s actually altering—and do you have to care? Let’s break it down.
BNPL in 2025
As soon as a distinct segment fee methodology, BNPL has rapidly turn out to be a mainstream monetary product. It’s now being provided at main retailers and used for every part from electronics to journey bookings.
This elevated recognition has pushed regulators and credit score bureaus to take BNPL extra critically. Because the trade matures, questions on credit score reporting, client protections, and long-term monetary affect are coming to the floor.
In response to Ian Moloney, head of coverage and regulatory affairs on the American Fintech Council, BNPL is “shifting from an rising product the place among the conventional methods didn’t precisely know easy methods to have interaction with it” to changing into “a longtime product.” His feedback, shared in an interview with a Funds Dive reporter, mirror the trade’s shift towards mainstream recognition.
However the product nonetheless doesn’t match simply into conventional credit score fashions. “BNPL doesn’t match neatly with our conventional understanding of credit score,” stated Ted Rossman, senior trade analyst at Bankrate. He famous that options like frequent account openings and closings—frequent in BNPL—would usually increase pink flags in conventional credit score reporting.
Affirm Now Reporting to Experian
As of April 1, 2025, Affirm started reporting all of its BNPL loans to Experian, marking a serious shift in how BNPL information enters the credit score ecosystem. This transfer makes Affirm essentially the most distinguished U.S. BNPL supplier to take credit score reporting mainstream.
In response to Libor Michaelk, president at Affirm, the purpose is to “assist shield and empower debtors,” whereas additionally giving shoppers the chance to “construct their credit score histories and higher handle their funds.”
Experian has framed this growth as a part of its push for larger transparency. The bureau said it’s “dedicated to driving transparency within the BNPL trade with out inadvertently negatively impacting shoppers.”
To that finish, whereas BNPL information from Affirm will now seem on client credit score experiences, it is not going to instantly have an effect on conventional credit score scores. Experian notes that BNPL information may very well be factored in down the road as new scoring fashions are developed.
“That is about supporting accountable lending,” stated Scott Brown, group president of Monetary Companies at Experian North America. “Higher transparency in purchase now, pay later exercise is essential to serving to shoppers construct their credit score histories.”
How Credit score Bureaus Are Dealing with BNPL
Not all credit score bureaus deal with BNPL information the identical. Right here’s a fast breakdown:
Experian
Experian accepts information from BNPL suppliers that select to report, like Affirm, and designates these accounts as Purchase Now, Pay Afterward client credit score experiences. Whereas the information is now seen to lenders, it’s not but included in conventional credit score scoring fashions equivalent to FICO or VantageScore.
Experian notes that BNPL info may affect scores sooner or later as new fashions are developed.
Equifax
In 2022, Equifax created a particular enterprise trade code that enables BNPL tradelines to be reported utilizing normal credit score reporting codecs. In response to Mark Luber, Chief Product Officer at Equifax, this ensures that BNPL information is reported as both installment loans or revolving traces of credit score—relying on how the supplier classifies the product.
TransUnion
TransUnion is additionally accepting BNPL information, however BNPL accounts are seen solely to shoppers on their very own experiences and should not shared with lenders or scoring suppliers at the moment. Consequently, BNPL information furnished to TransUnion doesn’t presently have an effect on credit score choices or credit score scores.
Ought to BNPL Be Reported to Credit score Bureaus?
As BNPL turns into extra frequent, so does the controversy over whether or not it must be included in client credit score experiences—and finally factored into credit score scores.
The Case for Reporting
Supporters of BNPL reporting say it’s a essential step towards making short-term credit score extra clear and serving to shoppers construct stronger credit score profiles—particularly these with restricted credit score histories.
Scott Brown, Group President of Monetary Companies at Experian North America, believes that “larger transparency in purchase now, pay later exercise is essential to serving to shoppers construct their credit score histories and supporting accountable lending.”
The Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau (CFPB) has additionally pushed for BNPL information to be included in credit score information. In a 2021 weblog submit, the company really useful that client reporting firms “incorporate BNPL information into core credit score information as quickly as doable,” and inspired the trade to develop standardized reporting codecs suited to BNPL’s distinctive construction.
Ted Rossman, a senior trade analyst at Bankrate, additionally helps the mixing—however with warning. In a March 2024 article, he wrote that BNPL reporting “is an indication of how far the trade nonetheless must go” and that conventional credit score scoring methods are nonetheless struggling to accommodate BNPL’s short-term nature. He argues for specializing in fee historical past reasonably than penalizing shoppers for frequent short-term loans or unclear utilization metrics.
The Case Towards Reporting
On the opposite aspect of the controversy are sure suppliers like Klarna, who argue that present credit score scoring fashions aren’t geared up to deal with BNPL information responsibly. In a Could 2024 press launch, Klarna said that credit score bureaus “do not need correct fashions to responsibly course of the information and guarantee good client outcomes.”
Not like a bank card, every BNPL transaction is individually underwritten. Due to this, Klarna argues that including these short-term accounts to credit score information may result in deceptive credit score profiles and decrease scores, particularly if scoring fashions deal with frequent BNPL utilization as dangerous habits.
Rossman echoes this concern in his article, noting that BNPL represents a “sq. peg in contrast with the proverbial spherical gap of conventional credit score reporting.” Till scoring fashions evolve, he suggests excluding BNPL from credit score utilization and common age of accounts calculations.
Regulatory Shifts
In Could 2024, the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau (CFPB) issued a serious interpretive rule declaring that BNPL lenders are categorised equally to bank card suppliers beneath the Fact in Lending Act. In response to the CFPB, BNPL is “usually used as a detailed substitute for standard bank cards,” which suggests shoppers deserve most of the identical authorized protections.
Underneath this rule, BNPL customers now have the proper to dispute fees and search refunds from the lender after returning a product—simply as they might with a standard bank card. These protections had been beforehand unclear or unavailable in lots of BNPL agreements.
The CFPB’s announcement additionally emphasised that this motion is a part of a broader effort to deliver consistency and accountability to the BNPL trade. It builds on the CFPB’s earlier efforts, together with its 2021 market monitoring inquiry, the place it referred to as for credit score bureaus to include BNPL information into core credit score information utilizing requirements that mirror the product’s distinctive construction.
Last Ideas
With Affirm now reporting BNPL loans to Experian, different suppliers might select to comply with. Some BNPL exercise is starting to seem on credit score experiences—although it’s not but factored into conventional credit score scores.
On the identical time, credit score bureaus are constructing the infrastructure to deal with BNPL information, and regulators just like the CFPB are shifting to use current bank card protections to the product. Repeatedly reviewing your credit score information and checking for updates out of your BNPL supplier or credit score bureau can assist you keep updated.
Whereas most of the particulars are nonetheless evolving, the important thing takeaway is that BNPL is being handled extra like conventional credit score—and that might have implications for the way it’s considered by lenders, bureaus, and regulators sooner or later.
