FICO To Roll Out New Scores to Reflect Your "Buy Now, Pay Later" Habits, Impacting Millions of Americans' Credit

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"Buy now, pay later"users may hurt their credit if they don't pay back those loans on time. Credit score overseer Fair Isaac (NASDAQ:FICO) announced new scoring models last month that will evaluate BNPL usage when determining credit worthiness. The program, scheduled to roll out this fall may help some folks gain access to better loan terms but failing to pay on time is going to hurt.

The processing services let retailers provide installment loans at the point of sale so buyers can spread out payments. The loans may have no interest or service fees, potentially encouraging customers to overspend. Not surprisingly, a Bankrate survey released in May showed that about “half of buy now, pay later users have experienced issues like overspending and missing payments.”