COLUMN: Ask the Money Lady – Beware the BN-PL option

Dear Money Lady Readers: Have you been offered a BN-PL option at a store self-checkout?

It’s now the latest thing this fall, being offered only on the self-checkout at your local retailer, whether that be for household goods, car parts or even groceries. So, what is it you ask?

BN-PL stands for “Buy Now – Pay Later” and is a new stream of business almost all financial institutions are getting involved in for 2026. With the rising cost of practically everything these days, banks, credit unions and even smaller companies that offer POS (point of sale) services have now realized there is an opportunity to capitalize on Canadians that are struggling. Of course, you know how this works, right? At the time of purchase, when you are prompted to pay, you will be given the option to defer the payment, “taking the merchandise with you now” and then agreeing at the point-of-sale terminal to “pay for it sometime in the future.” Voila, you get to defer the responsibility of payment!

Now some of you may be saying – well Chris, I can do that with my credit card? Sure, you can. But a BN-PL plan is not just for use with credit card holders, it’s for debt or cash too. Some banks are now pre-authorizing debit cards and bank accounts to allow you to pay for purchases in installments with the first payment sometimes due at the checkout and then the rest auto-charged to your debit card/account over the next few weeks (usually in two-week intervals) or it could be setup monthly.

And don’t think that these are small companies behind this new phenomenon. Moneris is now the biggest proponent of BN-PL through its point-of-sale terminal solutions, owned jointly by RBC Royal Bank and BMO Bank of Montreal. Moneris calls it their one-time recurring payment plan, while RBC recommends it as a way to “grow your business, and give your customers a better shopping experience.” RBC says to small businesses: “Turn more browsers into buyers with little effort. There’s no development work on your part and PayPlan by RBC will easily integrate into your existing site.”

Obviously, you can tell, I disagree to a buy-now and pay-later model for small retail. It’s one thing to offer it with big ticket items like, furniture, cars, boats/motorcycles and homes; but it’s quite another to offer it for small household purchases, like a toaster or basics, like groceries and pet food. Are we never to get out from under our debt to retire comfortably? Apparently, the financial institutions would rather us not. This sounds like another creative way to get people continuing to borrow. All lenders know that loans and mortgages are their “biggest money-making machines” and when people are struggling why not make it easier for them to borrow even more?

Banks know that if Canadians have a lot of open credit that they eventually can’t handle, when offered to amalgamate it into a consolidation loan or at the time of a mortgage renewal – well, they will mostly likely do it to ease the financial pain. Having been in banking for over 35 years and seen the before and after of the 2008 financial crisis, this feels like the times before the crisis, when banks and lenders were eager to showcase new clever and inventive products to entice us all to carry more credit.

Please be careful with your money. Make it a habit to stick to a written financial plan or budget and try to resist spending too much as we go into the holiday season. If you would like help with creating a new 2026 financial plan, I now offer one-on-one personalized and confidential money coaching. You can find out more on my website or drop me an email at coaching@askthemoneylady.ca

Christine Ibbotson is a Canadian finance writer, radio host & YouTuber. For more advice check out her YouTube channel: ASK THE MONEY LADY – Your Canadian Finance Coach.