One in seven buy now, pay later customers had more than 20 loans last year, Choice survey shows

Buy now, pay later services such as Afterpay are popular in Australia but companies offering these services often struggle to turn a profit. Photograph: Marlon Trottmann/Alamy

One in seven users of credit from buy-now-pay-later providers such as Afterpay or Zip had more than 20 loans last year, according to new data from consumer group Choice.

The Choice survey also found that consumers were using BNPL services to cover essential bills, with one in six using the short-term loans to cover supermarket purchases and 14% to pay for power.