Could the Popularity of BNPL Result from Consumers’ Misconceptions about the Financial Product’s?

The main objective of this article is to examine the factors that may influence the misidentification of the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment system, with a particular focus onwhether its popularity is due not only to user adoption incentives but also to a fundamental misinterpretation of its financial nature. In particular, the article addresses the question to what extent consumers perceive BNPL as a financial product distinct from traditional credit and how this perception shapes their financial behavior and decision-making. Although BNPL is frequently promoted as a seamless and interest-free alternative to credit cards, growing evidence indicates that many consumers fail to recognize it as a form of debt. This misconception may stem both from deliberate marketing strategies employed byBNPL providers and from cognitive biases that influence financial decision-making. The article investigates whether consumers’ limited financial literacy, along with psychological heuristics—such as the framing effect, present bias, and mental accounting—play a rolein the rapid adoption of BNPL, often without a full awareness of its potential financial implications. The research area defined in this way is particularly interesting because it is a new approach to the analysis of deferred payments. Many studies have been conducted on the BNPL market and the structure of the financial product itself, but the source of its false perception has been very rarely addressed. Critical analysis of the literature and previous scientific research on the subject. Empirical data verifying knowledge about BNPL and its perception by consumers come from research conducted in January 2024 using the PAPI and CAWI methods on a sample of 1002 Poles and in March 2025 using the CAWI method on a sample of 343 European students and their families. The article also refers to the positions of European financial market regulators from the perspective of actions to be taken. The conducted consumer research revealed a common misconception about the nature of the product, which is BNPL. Many people, especially young people, perceive BNPLnot as a financial service (consumer credit), but as an extension of the store’s commercial offer, which in its own name and on its own behalf decides to accept deferred payment for a product or service. It was also revealed that the use of BNPL facilitates the emergence of heuristics and other behavioral factors influencing the consumers’ misconception about the nature of this financial product.The presented consumer research and scientific research studies lead to an interesting conclusion, according to which the popularity of BNPL may result to a large extent from the consumers’ misconception that it is not a form of credit. This has significant consequences for the reflection on the adaptation of consumer protection regulations on the financial market and forces specific actions on the part of financial market supervisors.