Buy-now-pay-later lenders are moving beyond discretionary purchases and into basic household bills, according to a New York Times report summarized by Techmeme. The report names Flex, Zip and Affirm among lenders now pitching loans for needs such as electricity and rent. The hard number in the cluster is the scale of the market: Americans spent $160 billion through pay-later loans in 2025, Techmeme’s summary of the New York Times report says. That was roughly double the level in 2023. The Hacker News item points to the same New York Times article and frames the shift around necessities: electricity and rent. The provided summaries do not include loan terms, default rates, consumer demographics or company-by-company volumes, so those details should not be inferred from this cluster. What is clear is the direction of travel reported by the Times: BNPL is being marketed for household cash-flow needs, not only for retail purchases. That makes the story less about checkout software and more about consumer credit, household budgets and the lenders willing to underwrite short-duration borrowing around essential expenses. Who benefits: BNPL lenders named in the report — Flex, Zip and Affirm — could benefit if consumers adopt pay-later loans for recurring household needs. Consumers facing short-term cash-flow gaps may also see more financing options. Who's exposed: Consumers using pay-later loans for essential bills are more directly exposed to repayment obligations tied to basic living costs. The summaries do not provide evidence on defaults, losses or regulatory action.