When Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) first appeared, it looked like installment credit, but as adoption grew, so did our understanding of what it could be. Like Stuart Kauffman’s theory of the adjacent possible, each step of the #BNPL journey unlocks potential of financial behavior, risk, and opportunity. What began as a checkout option has become a catalyst for reimagined consumer credit.

The J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, published Aug. 14, 2025, highlighted customer satisfaction rates with card issuer post-sale and third-party BNPL. John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power, noted that card issuers in the current economy face challenges in delivering the right card options to the right customers.

Bryce Deeney, CEO of equipifi, a BNPL provider for banks and credit unions, believes financial institutions can leverage established relationships to compete with third parties and keep customers engaged and financially healthy.

This article originally appeared Oct. 14, 2025, in Issue 251001 of The Green Sheet: https://www.greensheet.com/emagazine.php?article_id=8006