Affirm and FICO’s BNPL credit-reporting model could ease some ‘phantom debt’ concerns

The news: Affirm and FICO released findings from their yearlong study analyzing how buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans affect a consumer’s FICO score, per a press release.

  • The majority of consumers in the study who recently obtained five or more Affirm BNPL loans ended the study with either higher scores or no score changes.
  • Adding a consumer’s BNPL use had generally the same effect on their credit score as opening a new account.