--- title: "The Economy Is So Bad That People Are Using Klarna for Rent and Utilities" description: "Nearly half of all consumers who took out buy-now, pay-later loans in 2025 said they wouldn't be able to make ends meet otherwise." date: "2026-08-20" modified: "2026-08-20" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/economy-bnpl-rent-utilities" categories: - "Finance" - "Future Society" --- # The Economy Is So Bad That People Are Using Klarna for Rent and Utilities ![A photo illustration shows a couple being stressed out about bills, with a piggy bank surrounded by a meager amount of coins.]() *Miljan Zivkovic / Shutterstock* There was a time in the not-so-distant-past when credit cards were a genuine novelty for American consumers. First emerging in the late 1950s, credit cards spread through households [like wildfire]() during the 70s and 80s, fueling the rapid development of card technology and thus enabling them to become ubiquitous personal finance vehicles they are today. In a matter of decades, private credit has [become the bedrock]() of the post-industrial US economy, contributing nearly $900 billion to the country's GDP and providing six million jobs over the past three years alone. Now in 2026, those omnipresent slabs of plastic are just the tip of the iceberg. The financial industry has options available to every strata of consumer, from predatory payday loans for poor and working-class people to crypto-backed loans for upwardly mobile yuppies. And then there's the "buy-now, pay-later" loan, those credit card-free vehicles which up until now were reserved for small, one-time consumer purchases like furniture — or [meal delivery](). According to a [recent survey]() by the loan marketplace LendingTree, however, BNPL-style lending from apps like Klarna and Afterpay are increasingly becoming the go-to for struggling households to pay for basic needs. Flagged [by the *New York Times*](), the survey found that half of those using BNPL loans said they'd have no way of making ends meet otherwise. That's a simply astonishing figure, given that US consumers spent close to [$160 billion]() through BNPL loans in 2025. As Karen Webster, chief executive of news and market research company Pymnts, told the *NYT* that BNPL has become the "working capital for the modern middle class." "Consumers are using it more for essential, everyday things," Webster explained. This includes services like veterinary, dental, and medical care, as well as recurring expenses like rent and utility bills. Take Baltimore resident Ashley Reed. After a family medical emergency forced her to max out her credit cards, Reed turned to BNPL loans from a number of companies like Klarna in order to pay for things like electrical bills and auto insurance. She now coughs up about $700 a month paying down the worst of the debt, per the *NYT*. "It’s a roller-coaster ride, up and down — I can't afford to have an emergency," Reed told the paper. "Sometimes I'm like, OK, am I going to have enough for groceries?" Of course, it's a Band-Aid fix for the systemic issue of affordability, as working people like Reed find themselves squeezed both by [rampant inflation]() and horribly [stagnant wages](). BNPL loans "address the real need that people are short of funds," Lauren Sanders, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center told the *NYT*, "but just adding fees to their monthly budget and leaving them short next week is not the answer." **More on finances:** *[AI Billionaires Are So Greedy That They're Supercharging Sales of Yachts and Private Jets]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()