logo
College grads shocked as names are read at commencement — by AI: ‘What a beautiful personal touch!'

College grads shocked as names are read at commencement — by AI: ‘What a beautiful personal touch!'

New York Post23-05-2025

These grads got a robo-sendoff they won't forget.
Students at New York City's Pace University were left shell-shocked — and maybe just a bit shellacked — when their recent graduation ceremony featured a synthetic surprise: Their names were read aloud not by a proud professor or a human announcer, but by a voice created by artificial intelligence.
Instead of the usual pomp and circumstance, it was giving … self-checkout.
Advertisement
A viral video posted by @therundownai on Instagram shows Pace grads queuing up to have QR codes on their phones scanned — a moment some compared to 'fruit and vegetables at a supermarket checkout' — then hearing their names uttered aloud via disembodied AI over the sound system.
'Because nothing says 'we value you' like a synthetic voice butchering your name after four years and thousands of dollars,' wrote user @thedeveloperstory on Threads, who also shared the clip. 'What a beautiful personal touch!'
Advertisement
4 A viral clip shows Pace grads lining up to scan QR codes on their phones — like produce at a supermarket checkout, but with diplomas instead of discounts.
therundownai/Instagram
The university did give students a heads-up, directing them to a website where they could phonetically spell their names and confirm the pronunciation.
The goal? Accuracy.
The result? A debate hotter than an outdoor, summer cap-and-gown ceremony.
Advertisement
Commenters on both Instagram and Threads were divided. One viewer beneath the IG post deadpanned: 'Imagine a school that would expel you for using AI to write a paper, but will use AI to read graduate names for them.'
Another on Threads fumed, 'Laziness! Are they really scanning people's phones? What the actual F? That guy couldn't read their names?'
4 Pace University grads got a shock to the system when, instead of a professor proudly calling their names, a robotic voice took the mic — straight outta Silicon Valley.
therundownai/Instagram
One user even lamented the visual awkwardness.
Advertisement
'Yeah, that looks super cheesy, since it's scanned right there in plain view of everyone,' they wrote. 'It's the whole idea that we know how the sausage gets made, but we don't necessarily need to actually see the sausage getting made.'
Still, others were surprisingly on board.
'Same at Northeastern University,' noted one commenter. 'Students recorded their own name for pronunciation … an AI voice read their name.'
'Brilliant!' another gushed.
Pace isn't alone in swapping live talent for machine precision, but for many students, the experience felt more 'Black Mirror' than commencement celebration.
4 Pace isn't the only school trading humans for high-tech — but for many grads, the ceremony felt more 'Black Mirror' than cap-and-gown magic.
Chris Brignell – stock.adobe.com
And it's not the first time Gen Z grads have felt overshadowed by AI.
As The Post previously reported, nearly half of Gen Z job seekers now believe their degrees are already obsolete, thanks to AI tools like ChatGPT.
Advertisement
According to a Harris Poll for Indeed, 49% of Gen Z respondents said their college education has lost value in the job market — with some now questioning whether it was worth the time and debt.
So, to recap: AI is eating their jobs, undercutting their diplomas — and now it's stealing their spotlight on graduation day.
4 To sum it up: AI's snatching their jobs, devaluing their degrees — and now it's hijacking their big moment on graduation day.
Being Imaginative – stock.adobe.com
Advertisement
Even the good intentions couldn't save the vibe. As one Thread user wrote, 'When I graduated, the person reading out the names had done a run through … it didn't take that long, and was less weird than showing your phone for them to scan.'
Perhaps next year's grads can just have ChatGPT write their diploma, too.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nectar Social buzzes out of stealth with $10.6 million backing from GV and True Ventures
Nectar Social buzzes out of stealth with $10.6 million backing from GV and True Ventures

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Nectar Social buzzes out of stealth with $10.6 million backing from GV and True Ventures

Going viral isn't luck. 'A book that I'll write one day is going to be called 'Manufacturing Virality,'' said Misbah Uraizee. 'It absolutely is manufacturable, and there's a playbook.' That playbook includes selective engagement, showing up in search, and partnerships with micro-influencers—not celebrities. It means seeding content, hosting real-life events, and using tools like polls and DMs to spark interaction. The goal: Build a community that talks, tags, and buys. Because even if virality can be engineered, it still has to come from somewhere real. 'For all of our customers, organic communities are the hardest,' said Uraizee. 'You've got paid metrics, you can buy more reach, you're able to scale at a certain length. But your organic traction—your organic community and how you show up there—is really the most authentic representation of your brand, and how viral or how much traction it has.' Misbah and her sister Farah Uraizee, both former Meta leaders—Misbah in product, Farah in engineering—left in 2023 to cofound Nectar Social, an agentic AI social commerce startup. Translation: The startup is looking to channel the social activity jungle into quantifiable revenue for brands. 'We saw how much private messaging was blowing up, and how terrible the internal elements were for brands to process and scale to that,' said Farah. 'Then, right at the cusp of [OpenAI's GPT] 3.5 launching, we were like: This is the moment. This is where you can start solving these problems in an authentic way. And that made us immediately jump on it.' Now, about two years after the Uraizees walked away from Meta, Nectar Social is launching out of stealth. The company has raised $10.6 million in combined pre-seed and seed funding, led by GV and True Ventures. BAM Ventures, Charge Ventures, FAB Ventures, Flying Fish Ventures, Mercury Fund, Trust Fund by Sophia Amoruso, and XRC Ventures participated in the round. Nectar's customers include Bobbi Brown's Jones Road Beauty, soda brand Olipop, viral California makeup brand Tower28, and skincare device brand Solawave. (On Instagram alone, this group has a combined more than 1.8 million followers.) GV's bet is that Nectar will become essential to brands looking to compete in the crowded e-commerce space, post-DTC boom. 'Brands are inundated by DMs and comments,' said Frédérique Dame, general partner at GV. 'And they need to convert the customer right away on the spot. When the customer asks a question about the product, they're ready to buy. And Nectar is shrinking the actual funnel to instant purchase.' Nectar's tools include AI 'social copilot' agents that autonomously handle community interactions, real-time data, and revenue attribution metrics that tie DMs, mentions, and comments to purchases. (Nectar said that it's already managed more than 500,000 DMs, comments, and mentions, while reducing customers' average response times to about five minutes for inbound social media queries.) And yes, there's absolutely a Gen Z angle here—Salesforce data suggests that 76% of Gen Z is finding products through social media. 'Social is becoming the go-to place for people to discover a brand, build a record with a brand, interact and close the loop on the brand,' said GV's Dame. 'But the magic of this is that it goes from inside out. They can extend it to your email ecosystem.' Misbah and Farah are five years apart, and though their early years took them from Singapore to Sweden to Ireland, much of their childhood was spent in Northern California, where their parents worked in the telecom industry. Nadeem and Amtul Uraizee, their parents, told Fortune via email that they weren't surprised the sisters decided to start a company together. One thing they emphasized: Misbah and Farah have always had a habit of disagreeing—thoughtfully. As kids, they would debate vigorously across family road trips. 'But the moment one of them ever hit any rough patches, the other would drop everything to help,' Nadeem and Amtul wrote to Fortune. 'That's just who they've always been: each other's biggest critics and biggest champions. Now, seeing them run a company together, it honestly feels like the same relationship playing out on a bigger stage. They still disagree (probably more than ever), but they've learned how to turn those disagreements into something meaningful that they can build together.' And what they're trying to build together is a ubiquitous but invisible engine for, essentially, going viral. Conceptually, going viral is interesting for its odd combination of science and mystery. There are, as Misbah points out, ways to build virality. But when something goes viral, it's ultimately because people care genuinely in some way. Which isn't a one-way street—a brand on social media has to consistently show (at scale) that it cares about its customers. 'The best brands are hyperactive,' said Farah. 'They respond to every single person, and they don't only respond—they proactively encourage it.' See you tomorrow, Allie GarfinkleX: @agarfinksEmail: a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here. Nina Ajemian curated the deals section of today's newsletter. Subscribe here. This story was originally featured on

Medical Crowdfunding Market is Poised to Surpass US$ 13.55 Billion by 2033
Medical Crowdfunding Market is Poised to Surpass US$ 13.55 Billion by 2033

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Medical Crowdfunding Market is Poised to Surpass US$ 13.55 Billion by 2033

Medical crowd funding market is expanding worldwide, propelled by digital payments, disease-specific platforms, regulatory transparency, and Gen-Z micro-donations, enabling quicker cross-border campaigns and verifiable outcomes while fostering ethical AI-driven donor confidence and sustainability. Chicago, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global medical crowdfunding market was valued at US$ 3.47 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$ 13.55 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 16.32% during the forecast period 2025–2033. As digital infrastructure matures, the medical crowd funding market is rapidly shifting from rudimentary appeal pages to sophisticated, mobile-first ecosystems. In 2024, leading platforms collectively processed more than 1.9 million patient campaigns, a jump of 420,000 cases compared with 2022. Seamless account creation through biometric log-in, embedded electronic health record connectors, and real-time compliance checks allow organizers to build a verifiable case narrative in under six minutes on average. This reduced friction has noticeably shortened the time between campaign launch and first donation to less than three hours, evidence that user-interface optimization directly influences velocity. Crucially, artificial intelligence now curates comparable cases, suggesting realistic funding targets and flagging potential compliance gaps. Download Sample Pages: Equally transformative is the convergence of social media livestreaming and one-click micro-donations, which amplifies reach without increasing marketing spend. The medical crowd funding market benefits from Instagram's direct-donate sticker that rolled out globally in February 2024, unlocking exposure to nearly 260 million health-focused followers in one quarter. X's redesigned Spaces feature has also become a real-time forum where transplant candidates answer donor queries, converting listening sessions into contribution spikes reaching up to 2,500 transactions per hour. These channel integrations, combined with predictive analytics that surface ideal posting windows, are raising baseline visibility for small campaigns—a clear sign that the medical crowd funding market is becoming deeply interwoven with everyday digital behavior. Key Findings in Medical Crowdfunding Market Market Forecast (2033) US$ 13.55 billion CAGR 16.32% Largest Region (2024) North America (35%) By Crowdfunding Type Donation-based (50%) By Indication Cancer Treatments (25%) By Application Medical Treatments (55%) By End User Individuals (59%) Top Drivers Rising healthcare costs pushing patients toward alternative funding solutions daily Insurance coverage gaps forcing families to seek community financial support Social media amplification enabling campaigns to reach broader donor networks Top Trends AI-powered campaign optimization tools increasing donation success rates significantly Corporate matching programs expanding employee contributions to medical fundraising campaigns Blockchain verification systems enhancing donor trust through transparent medical documentation Top Challenges Regulatory compliance requirements increasing platform operational costs and campaign verification Donor fatigue emerging from oversaturation of medical fundraising campaign requests Geographic disparities creating unequal funding access between urban rural communities Platform Evolution Reshaping Patient Financing Across Diverse Therapeutic Categories Worldwide Platform design is no longer generic; instead, campaign templates now mirror specific therapeutic journeys. Oncology fundraisers can auto-populate cost checklists from NCCN guidelines, whereas rare-disease organizers pull lab-encoded invoices directly from Genomic Passport repositories. This specialization within the medical crowd funding market reduces narrative fatigue and reassures donors that requested amounts align with clinically validated pathways. In 2023, GoFundMe created a dedicated kidney-transplant hub that attracted 38,000 searches during launch weekend alone, demonstrating pent-up demand for category-focused navigation. Similar hubs emerged on Ketto for neonatal surgeries and on Leetchi for maternal care, encouraging peer benchmarking and anchoring expectations about procedure timelines while boosting campaign trust at critical stages. Equally important, machine-readable taxonomies let researchers mine anonymized outcome data, creating feedback loops that improve future campaign accuracy. For instance, BloodCancerUK extracted 4,600 myeloma requests, revealing that accommodation and travel consume one-third of overall bills, a finding now integrated into default budgeting suggestions. Such insights demonstrate how the medical crowd funding market is morphing into an evidence-rich ecosystem rather than a static donation jar. Therapeutic segmentation also supports pharmaceutical assistance programs: Novartis piloted an integration allowing heart-failure patients to share co-pay vouchers directly in campaign widgets, cutting offline paperwork entirely. As these domain-specific features proliferate, donors can grasp why a stem-cell transplant differs financially from a CAR-T infusion, strengthening empathy. Regulatory Environments Shifting Responsibility Toward Greater Transparency And Donor Protection The regulatory lens on the medical crowd funding market sharpened considerably in 2024 when Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration began auditing campaigns that mention off-label stem-cell procedures. Similar scrutiny followed in Canada, where the Competition Bureau compelled platforms to display fulfillment disclosures prominently. These moves are less about suppression and more about clarifying informed consent for donors who may conflate compassionate use with proven therapy. In the United States, bipartisan draft legislation named the HELP Donations Act now proposes mandatory escrow of funds until hospitals confirm appointment dates, a provision that could reduce diversion risk. Proactive platforms have already introduced voluntary vetting to stay ahead of statutory frameworks worldwide compliance expectations. Beyond government edicts, non-profit watchdogs are establishing standards that resonate across borders. 2024 guidance now requires a dynamic ledger disclosing real-time expenditure categories broken down by pharmacy fees, rehabilitation and administrative overhead. This ledger syncs through open APIs, allowing investigative journalists to cross-reference financial trails with hospital billing codes. The ensuing public visibility is nudging the medical crowd funding market toward the kind of auditable architecture long expected of public charities. Importantly, the change also reassures large corporate donors; Salesforce, for example, routed company-matched employee gifts only to campaigns equipped with verifiable disbursement dashboards. Such selective backing pressures lagging platforms to upgrade faster, ensuring uniform donor safeguards across ecosystems. Payment Integration And FinTech Partnerships Enabling Frictionless Cross-Border Donation Flows Financial technology collaborations are dismantling the currency barriers that historically throttled campaign visibility. Wise's 2024 plug-in lets organizers in Lagos receive donations in naira while donors in Berlin pay in euros, with conversion completed at mid-market rates in under three seconds. This capability pushed average cross-border gift size to 62 euros in Q1, according to platform dashboards. Within the medical crowd funding market, Stripe's Identity solution now screens donor cards against sanctions lists in real time, reducing chargebacks linked to compliance flags. Meanwhile, blockchain-based service GivingBlock logged 7,400 crypto contributions for oncology campaigns last year, proving that asset-agnostic payment rails increase access for diaspora contributors and foster timely lifesaving treatment disbursements. Micro-installment features are another game changer. Razorpay's new PayLater widget allows Indian donors to split a 10,000-rupee pledge into four interest-free tranches, widening the donor pool without diluting net proceeds. For U.S. audiences, PayPal's Complete Payouts API issues same-day transfers once hospital invoices are verified, preventing costly treatment postponements. These developments signal a broader shift as the medical crowd funding market converges with embedded finance; campaigns now operate more like on-demand benefit plans than one-time charity appeals. Crucially, every transaction updates a programmable ledger, making it easier for employers or community groups to match payments in real time. Speed, transparency and optionality now reinforce donor confidence across income and age. Regional Landscape Analysis Highlighting North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America Regional performance diverges significantly, reflecting healthcare reimbursement gaps and cultural attitudes toward community aid. In North America, the medical crowd funding market remains dominated by U.S. campaigns, which totaled about 540,000 in 2023, driven by high out-of-pocket expenses for insulin, fertility, and trauma care. Canada shows slower but steady adoption because provincial coverage softens acute financial pain; campaigns there skew toward adjunct costs like accommodation near tertiary hospitals. Mexico's regulated donor-tax deduction, introduced in 2022, is gradually stimulating formal documentation, making local platforms such as Donadora more attractive to middle-class families who previously relied on church drives, and social media influencers are amplifying verified pediatric oncology campaigns nationwide today. In Asia-Pacific, Ketto and experienced campaign surges after policy reforms allowing digital wallet KYC through Aadhaar and SingPass slashed onboarding time to minutes. Japan's Readyfor introduced hospital-coordinated group fundraising, pooling resources from 3,000 alumni networks for a single liver transplant in Osaka, illustrating collectivist dynamics. Europe, meanwhile, is shaped by GDPR-aligned privacy expectations; Leetchi's anonymized donor wall became a popular compromise, balancing transparency with data minimization. Latin America continues to wrestle with payment fragmentation; yet, Chile's Fintual integration enabled stablecoin gifting, supporting Venezuelan migrants financing dialysis in Santiago. Collectively, these trends confirm the medical crowd funding market adapts to regional regulatory, infrastructural and cultural contours rather than following blueprint. Disease Specific Campaign Dynamics Revealing Oncology, Rare Disorders, Transplant Gaps Oncology remains the most frequent driver of campaigns, but deeper examination shows widening sub-segments. Pediatric leukemia requests increasingly cite genomic sequencing costs, averaging 7,200 dollars per patient, according to St. Jude-curated data sets. In contrast, adult solid-tumor fundraisers prioritize unpaid caretaker leave, with median lost wages approaching 30,000 dollars across a six-month treatment window. Such divergent needs underscore why the medical crowd funding market cannot rely on generic messaging. Campaigns that explicitly list line-item expenses now secure first donations two days faster than narrative-only appeals, as donors value clarity. Notably, 2024 saw the first integration of Roche Foundation bridge grants directly within breast-cancer fundraising pages, enhancing continuity of drug access. Rare-disease campaigns display different stress points: enzyme-replacement therapies often exceed lifetime insurance caps, pushing families toward recurring quarterly fundraisers instead of single events. Platforms have addressed fatigue by bundling subscriptions, letting supporters authorize automatic 50-dollar renewals that reduce organizer effort. For transplant cases, attention has shifted from surgical bills to long-term immunosuppressant adherence; Lifeline Analytics recorded 12,500 post-transplant medication drives in 2023, a six-fold rise over 2019. This pivot explains why the medical crowd funding market is partnering with pharmacy benefit managers willing to preload debit cards limited to drug NDC codes. By aligning campaign disbursement with clinical protocols, organizers and donors now share measurable outcome benchmarks effectively. Donor Behavior Insights Reflecting Demographic Shifts, Motivations, Storytelling Preferences Online Demographic analytics gathered across 12 leading platforms reveal that Gen Z now accounts for 380,000 unique donors annually, overtaking Baby Boomers in volume for the first time. Their contribution sizes are smaller—averaging 28 dollars—but frequency doubles that of older cohorts due to subscription models. Emojis, vertical short-form video, and transparent fee disclosures resonate strongly, bringing click-through conversion to one in seven profile views. This influx is significant for the medical crowd funding market because younger donors show heightened interest in impact tracking; dashboards that update milestones, such as 'completed second chemotherapy cycle,' trigger repeat gifts within 48 hours. Engagement pipelines therefore require social-media literacy alongside financial acumen during uncertain economic climates. Motivational psychology studies conducted by Johns Hopkins in late 2023 show that storytelling length directly affects trust. Narratives of 300 to 400 words with at least two diagnostic documents attached produced the highest willingness to donate again within one month. Beyond wording, the inclusion of physician voice notes raised perceived authenticity scores from three to five on a Likert-style scale. Not surprisingly, platforms are embedding drag-and-drop tele-consult recordings. This adaptive presentation demonstrates how the medical crowd funding market turns user-experience research into rapid feature updates. Combined with sentiment-analysis models that alert organizers when tone drifts toward guilt-baiting, these tools maintain ethical storytelling without sacrificing urgency or donor empathy. Modify Report as Per Requirements: Future Outlook Emphasizing Ethical AI, Verification, Community Ownership, Sustainable Impact Looking forward, predictive triage engines will rank campaigns by clinical severity and funding runway, guiding donor attention toward time-critical cases without compromising organizer autonomy. Already, Israel-based startup Aidocare processes radiology reports to assign urgency scores, with pilots on two global platforms. Such algorithmic visibility will only gain traction if paired with bias audits and community oversight boards. The medical crowd funding market also anticipates broader adoption of zero-knowledge proofs, allowing beneficiaries to validate diagnoses to auditors without revealing identifiable data, thus reconciling privacy and transparency. Together, these technologies promise a future where integrity audits happen in milliseconds, freeing donors to focus on empathetic giving while curbing misinformation and duplicate appeals. Community ownership models are equally compelling. Kenya's MicroPool prototype constitutes a decentralized mutual-aid treasury where local cooperatives stake tokens redeemable for medical invoices; surplus yields replenish emergency coffers, lowering reliance on episodic appeals. Meanwhile, U.K. regulators approved the first Social Impact Bond linking donor repayments to confirmed improvements in quality-adjusted life years for cystic-fibrosis patients. By rewarding measurable outcomes, the structure nudges the medical crowd funding market toward accountable sustainability. Finally, as large language models become embedded, expect auto-generated campaign drafts that pre-check regulatory language, cite peer-reviewed studies, and calibrate tone in line with health-literacy best practices, ensuring ethical persuasion at unparalleled scale across diverse socioeconomic user bases. Global Medical Crowdfunding Market Major Players: Sartorius AG Thermo Fisher Scientific GE Healthcare Merck KGaA Eppendorf SE Pall Corporation (Danaher Corporation) Solaris Biotech Cytiva Chemtrix CerCell Infors AG Other Prominent Players Key Market Segmentation: By Crowdfunding Type Donation-based Equity-based Debt-based Reward-based By Indication Cancer Treatments Rare Diseases Organ Transplants Emergency Surgeries Mental Health Treatments Rehabilitation & Recovery Pediatric Care Others By Application Medical Treatments Research Funding Health Initiatives Medical Equipment Purchase By End User Individuals Non-Profit Organizations Healthcare Institutions By Distribution Channel Direct-to-Consumer Third-Party Platforms By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa (MEA) South America Have Questions? Reach Out Before Buying: About Astute Analytica Astute Analytica is a global market research and advisory firm providing data-driven insights across industries such as technology, healthcare, chemicals, semiconductors, FMCG, and more. We publish multiple reports daily, equipping businesses with the intelligence they need to navigate market trends, emerging opportunities, competitive landscapes, and technological advancements. With a team of experienced business analysts, economists, and industry experts, we deliver accurate, in-depth, and actionable research tailored to meet the strategic needs of our clients. At Astute Analytica, our clients come first, and we are committed to delivering cost-effective, high-value research solutions that drive success in an evolving marketplace. Contact Us:Astute AnalyticaPhone: +1-888 429 6757 (US Toll Free); +91-0120- 4483891 (Rest of the World)For Sales Enquiries: sales@ Follow us on: LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube CONTACT: Contact Us: Astute Analytica Phone: +1-888 429 6757 (US Toll Free); +91-0120- 4483891 (Rest of the World) For Sales Enquiries: sales@ Website:

Retailers turn to BNPL apps to ease cost-of-living strain
Retailers turn to BNPL apps to ease cost-of-living strain

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Retailers turn to BNPL apps to ease cost-of-living strain

As rising prices squeeze household budgets on both sides of the Atlantic, major retailers in the UK and US are turning to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services like Klarna, Affirm, PayPal and Afterpay to offer more flexible payment options. These services allow shoppers to split purchases into smaller instalments, often interest-free, appealing to consumers looking to manage spending without resorting to credit cards. In the UK, high street brands such as John Lewis and ASDA have integrated BNPL at checkout. In the US, companies like Walmart and Amazon have partnered with BNPL providers to help customers spread the cost of everyday purchases and big-ticket items. Retailers on both sides of the Atlantic have reported increased online conversion rates and larger order values since adopting BNPL. In the UK, John Lewis now offers Klarna as a payment method on its website, allowing customers to pay in three instalments. The retailer says this has helped boost sales of furniture and homeware, categories where customers typically spend more. In the US, Affirm is widely used by major retailers including Walmart and Peloton. Walmart enables BNPL at checkout through Affirm for purchases over $144, including electronics, home goods and sports equipment. By offering payment flexibility, the retailer has made higher-value purchases more accessible to cash-strapped consumers. Retailers receive full payment upfront from BNPL providers, while the customer repays the loan in instalments. This setup protects businesses from payment default while offering customers a way to manage costs over time. BNPL has become especially popular among younger shoppers, many of whom prefer avoiding traditional credit. In the UK, fashion brands like ASOS, H&M and JD Sports report strong uptake among Gen Z customers, who use Klarna and Clearpay (the UK version of Afterpay) to budget purchases. Similarly, in the US, Klarna and Afterpay have grown rapidly among millennial and Gen Z users, who use these services for everything from clothing to tech. Amazon introduced BNPL through Affirm in 2021, offering interest-free payments on a range of goods, from laptops to kitchen appliances. Retailers benefit from increased reach into this demographic, often using BNPL firms' marketing platforms to target shoppers directly. However, customer approval rates and loan eligibility vary, raising concerns about transparency and potential exclusion of those with weaker credit histories. While BNPL offers convenience and budgeting support, regulators and consumer advocates in both countries have warned of the risks. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority is planning stricter oversight of the sector after concerns about debt accumulation and lack of affordability checks. In the US, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also launched investigations into BNPL providers, citing the potential for consumers to take on multiple loans across platforms without a clear understanding of repayment obligations. Retailers using BNPL must now navigate a shifting regulatory landscape. They are expected to ensure transparency around terms and conditions, and to help customers understand the consequences of missed payments. As inflation continues to impact household finances, BNPL remains a double-edged sword: a useful tool for short-term flexibility, but one that may pose longer-term financial risks if not used responsibly. "Retailers turn to BNPL apps to ease cost-of-living strain" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store