Buy now, pay later used by one in 10 for essentials

Nearly one in 10 people have used buy now, pay later schemes to cover essentials, a survey has found.

Six per cent said they had bought groceries using the loans, and the same proportion have used it to buy a takeaway, according to the research for Hargreaves Lansdown.

Sarah Coles, of Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Borrowing to pay for essentials feels like a solution in the short term, but, by spreading the cost, it means pushing up your expenses for months, making it even harder to keep on top of your finances.”