“Buy now, pay later!” Mobile applications that allow payment deferral are proliferating all over the world. Against the background of rampant inflation, more and more people are giving in to temptation and risk becoming over-indebted or even being taken for a ride by unscrupulous usurers.

In China, young people are the main victims of these online loans, which encourage excessive credit spending and consumption. That’s what it says in the article that opens our file this week. It was discovered by our journalists Weixin, the most popular means of communication in China – and at the same time a blogging platform that offers a space of relative freedom.

“Unlike the older generation who wanted to save for their old age, the author explains, Young people do not hesitate to “fulfill their dreams of today with tomorrow’s money,” a true way of life.” And a real spiral, as demonstrated by several young people quoted in the article, who often increased their loans online before drowning in debt. It must be said that the temptation is great: Ant Credit Pay, Baitiao, 360 Jietiao… Online credit platforms have multiplied in the country. “Because their offerings are much more accessible, they make life easier for credit lovers.” the author explains again.

Through this article we wanted to measure the extent of the problem. The phenomenon does not only affect China, on the contrary: in the United Kingdom “The use of this type of loan, which is important among young people aged 18 to 24, also extends to seniors whose purchasing power is reduced by inflation,” noticed that Financial Times at the beginning of the year. In Canada, too, the enthusiasm for requests for payment deferrals is phenomenal, according to the finance website Payment journal.

In India (according to a documentary by… BBC) or in Kenya, as explained last year an article by Guardian, The boom in these applications also benefits loan sharks, who are not afraid to harass or even threaten borrowers who do not repay on time. Enough to comfort those calling for regulation of a growing sector, “twice higher than bank transfers”, relieving Forbes. “Today, explains the magazine, the fact that BNPL [Buy Now Pay Later] is no longer reserved for unusual purchases such as fitness equipment or luxury clothing, and the fact that it has become a means of consumption like any other makes the implementation of rules essential.

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