With a minor screening processes, it's easier to get approved for BNPL service than to acquire a credit card or be approved for a loan. "It creates a potentially dangerous situation," he said. While the average interest rate for credit cards is about 24 percent, according to LendingTree, most BNPL companies don't charge interest. But some do enforce late fees or send unpaid debts to collection agencies. After one missed payment, Afterpay pauses the user's account and charges a late fee up to $8 or 25 percent of the cost of the original order. U.S. households are holding a record $17 trillion in debt, including nearly $1 trillion in credit card debt, according to the New York Fed's quarterly household debt and credit report. And although delinquencies slowed during the pandemic, there are signs that Americans are increasingly falling behind on credit card payments, car loans and mortgages.