By CORA LEWIS

NEW YORK (AP) — More Klarna customers are having trouble repaying their “buy now, pay later” loans, the short-term lender said this week. The disclosure corresponded with reports by lending platforms Bankrate and LendingTree, which cited an increasing share of all “buy now, pay later” users saying they had fallen behind on payments.

Related Articles

Majority of US states now have laws banning or regulating cellphones in schools, with more to follow

Tariffs, inflation and leery customers are hitting retailers in different ways

OpenAI recruits legendary iPhone designer Jony Ive to work on AI hardware in $6.5B deal

Fortnite video game returns to iPhone app store in U.S., ending exile imposed by Apple

Ways to reduce financial stress during uncertain times

The late or missed installments are a sign of faltering financial health among a segment of the US population, some analysts say, as the nation’s total consumer debt rises to a record $18.2 trillion and the Trump administration moves to collect on federal student loans.

Shoppers who opt to finance purchases through BNPL services tend to be younger than the average consumer, and a study from the Federal Reserve last year said Black and Hispanic women were especially likely to use the plans, which customers of all income levels are increasingly adopting.

“While BNPL provides credit to financially vulnerable consumers, these same consumers may be overextending themselves,” the authors of the Federal Reserve study wrote. “This concern is consistent with previous research that has shown consumers spend more when BNPL is offered when checking out and that BNPL use leads to an increase in overdraft fees and credit card interest payments and fees.”

As Klarna grows its user base and revenue, the Swedish company said its first-quarter consumer credit losses rose 17% compared to the January-March period of last year, to $136 million.

A company spokesperson said in a statement that the increase largely reflected the higher number of loans Klarna made year over year. The percentage of its loans at a global level that went unpaid in the first quarter grew from 0.51% in 2024 to 0.54% this year, and the company sees “no sign of a weakened U.S. consumer,” he said.

More consumers are using ‘buy now, pay later’ plans

Buy now, pay later plans generally let consumers split payments for purchases into four or fewer installments, often with a down payment at checkout. The loans are typically marketed as zero-interest, and most require no credit check or a soft credit check.

BNPL providers promote the plans as a safer alternative to traditional credit cards when interest rates are high. The popularity of the deferred payment plans, and the expanding ways customers can use them, have also sparked public attention.

When Klarna announced a partnership with DoorDash in March, the news led to online comments about Americans taking out loans to buy takeout food. Similar skepticism emerged when Billboard revealed that more than half of Coachella attendees used installment plans to finance their tickets to the music festival.

An April report from LendingTree said about four in ten users of buy now, pay later plans said they had made late payments in the past year, up from one in three last year. According to a May report from Bankrate, about one in four users of the loans chose them because they were easier to get than traditional credit cards.

The six largest BNPL providers — Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal, Sezzle, and Zip — originated about 277.3 million loans for $33.8 billion in merchandise in 2022, or an amount equal to about 1% of credit card spending that year, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

An industry that is coming under less regulatory scrutiny

The federal agency said this month it did not intend to enforce a Biden-era regulation that was designed to put more boundaries around the fintech lenders.

The rule treated buy now, pay later loans like traditional credit cards under the Truth In Lending Act, requiring disclosures, refund processing, a formal dispute process and other protections.

The regulation, which took effect last year, also prevented borrowers from being forced into automatic payments or charged with multiple fees for the same missed payment.

The Trump administration said its non-enforcement decision came “in the interest of focusing resources on supporting hard-working American taxpayers” and that it would “instead keep its enforcement and supervision resources focused on pressing threats to consumers, particularly servicemen and veterans.”

Consumer advocates maintain that without federal oversight, customers seeking refunds or in search of clear information about BNPL fee structures and interest rates will have less legal recourse.

There are risks to taking out installment loans

Industry watchers point to consumers taking out loans they can’t afford to pay back as a top risk of BNPL use. Without credit bureaus keeping track of the new form of credit, there are fewer safeguards and less oversight.

Justine Farrell, chair of the marketing department at the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business, said that when consumers aren’t able to make loan payments on time, it worsens the economic stress they’re already experiencing.

“Consumers’ financial positions feel more spread thin than they have in a long time,” said Farrell, who studies consumer behavior and BNPL services. “The cost of food is continuing to go up, on top of rent and other goods … so consumers are taking advantage of the ability to pay for items later.”

The Consumer Federation of America and other watchdog organizations have expressed concern about the rollback of BNPL regulation as the use of the loans continues to rise.

“By taking a head-in-the-sand approach to the new universe of fintech loans, the new CFPB is once again favoring Big Tech at the expense of everyday people,” said Adam Rust, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America.

The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

The Twins have so often been on the other end of it over the past few years, watching the Guardians raucously celebrate a walk-off win as victory slipped away from their hands.

Wednesday, they returned the favor.

It took nearly two full days to do it, but the Twins and Guardians finally finished Monday night’s game, playing through chilly temperatures and misty rain on Wednesday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis. After two rain delays Monday and a postponement on Tuesday, the two teams picked up in the fourth inning on Wednesday, with the Twins, who were leading 2-1 at the time the game resumed, eventually coming out on top in a 6-5 walk-off win.

Kody Clemens’ ninth-inning double came after the Guardians had scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game.

“I got some consistent playing time and finally got on time with my swing,” Clemens said. “It’s been a blessing.”

The Twins were one strike away victory earlier in the inning when Bo Naylor smacked a double off the wall in right field off Jhoan Duran, bringing home a pair of runs. The inning had started with Joe Ryan, who was on the mound when the game resumed, allowing a double and a walk before making way for Duran.

Duran couldn’t extract the Twins from the jam.

“Wish we could’ve just closed it out cleanly, but it’s kind of fun to go out there and do your thing,” Ryan said. “Maybe it’s a good thing, burned their reliever there, too. Can look at a positive from that.”

While the Guardians (25-22) decided on a bullpen day for the resumption of the game, the Twins (27-21) rode starter Joe Ryan into the ninth inning. Ryan gave up a home run to former teammate Carlos Santana, who initially showed bunt in his fourth-inning at-bat before blasting Ryan’s sixth pitch of the at-bat pitch out to right. That home run tied the game 2-2 at the time.

“It was tough,” Ryan said of his day. “I’ve been grinding through some stuff for a while now. I think the antibiotics that I’m on right now — I didn’t even wake up for a while so it was kind of hard to get going. … But defense did great, offense was awesome, so, great to get another win.”

The Twins had retaken the lead in the fourth inning after Santana’s home run and they held it until the top of the ninth.

Outfielder Trevor Larnach led off the inning with a single and ended up scoring when Clemens, pinch hitting, hit a ball toward center that outfielder Nolan Jones dove for, despite having seemingly no chance at catching the ball. Larnach scored on the play, and Clemens wound up on third. He scored immediately after on Harrison Bader’s sacrifice fly. Bader would drive in another run in the eighth inning, bringing home pinch-runner DaShawn Keirsey Jr.

The Twins’ earlier two runs came on RBI knocks from the Ty France in the first inning and Willi Castro in the second off Cleveland starter Logan Allen on Monday. Bailey Ober, who started the game initially, gave up a run in the first inning. He pitched three innings in between rain delays before the game was suspended.

Related Articles

Twins, Guardians washed out again; will attempt to play (almost) two Wednesday

Twins, Guardians game suspended; to be resumed on Tuesday, weather permitting

Kody Clemens makes most of opportunity with Twins

Walks haunt Twins early as Brewers stop Minnesota’s win streak at 13

Carson McCusker is a good-sized Twins roster addition

By JEFF AMY

ATLANTA (AP) — Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating the use of cellphones in schools in 2023. Just two years later, more than half of all states have laws in place, with more likely to act soon.

Related Articles

Over boos, Columbia University president notes Mahmoud Khalil’s absence at graduation

Most AAPI adults oppose college funding cuts and student deportations, a new poll finds

After crossing the border for better schools, some parents are pulling their kids and leaving the US

UMN names Gretchen Ritter executive vice president, provost

Hüsker Dü’s Bob Mould receives honorary degree and delivers Macalester College keynote

Bills have sprinted through legislatures this year in states as varied as New York and Oklahoma, reflecting a broad consensus that phones are bad for kids.

Connecticut state Rep. Jennifer Leeper, a Democrat and co-chair of the General Assembly’s Education Committee, on May 13 called phones “a cancer on our kids” that are “driving isolation, loneliness, decreasing attention and having major impacts both on social-emotional well-being but also learning.”

Republicans express similar sentiments.

“This is a not just an academic bill,” Republican Rep. Scott Hilton said after Georgia’s bill, which only bans phones in grades K-8, passed in March. “This is a mental health bill. It’s a public safety bill.”

So far, 26 states have passed laws, with eight other states and the District of Columbia implementing rules or making recommendations to local districts. Of the states, 17 have acted this year. Just Tuesday, Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen signed a law banning phones throughout the school day. Earlier Tuesday, Alaska lawmakers required schools to regulate cellphones when they overrode an education package Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy had vetoed for unrelated reasons.

More action is coming as bills await a governor’s signature or veto in Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and New Hampshire.

Increasing focus on banning phones throughout the school day

When Florida first acted, lawmakers ordered schools to ban phones during instructional time while allowing them between classes or at lunch. But now there’s another bill awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ action that goes further. It would ban phones for the entire school day for elementary and middle schools.

Ten states and the District of Columbia have enacted school day bans, most for students in grades K-12, and they now outnumber the seven states with instructional time bans.

North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong called the ban throughout the school day that he signed into law “a huge win.”

Students react as North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong hands a pen to a girl after he signed a bill for a “bell-to-bell” cellphone ban for public school K-12 students on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Centennial Elementary School in Bismarck, N.D. To the right of the governor is first lady Kjersti Armstrong. Republican Sen. Michelle Axtman is at left. Republican Rep. Jim Jonas is at right. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

“Teachers wanted it. Parents wanted it. Principals wanted it. School boards wanted it,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong recently visited a grade school with such a ban in place. He said he saw kids engaging with each other and laughing at tables during lunch.

The “bell-to-bell” bans have been promoted in part by ExcelinEd, the education think tank founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The group’s political affiliate has been active in lobbying for bans.

Nathan Hoffman, ExcelinEd’s senior director of state policy and advocacy, said barring phones throughout the day heads off problems outside of class, like when students set up or record fights in halls.

“That’s often when you get some of your biggest behavioral issues, whether they go viral or not,” Hoffman said.

Other states want school districts to set their own rules

But other states, particularly where there are strong traditions of local school control, are mandating only that school districts adopt some kind of cellphone policy, believing districts will take the hint and sharply restrict phone access. In Maine, where some lawmakers originally proposed a school day ban, lawmakers are now considering a rewritten bill that would only require a policy.

And there have been a few states where lawmakers failed to act at all. Maybe the most dramatic was in Wyoming, where senators voted down a bill in January, with some opponents saying teachers or parents should set the rules.

Where policymakers have moved ahead, there’s a growing consensus around exceptions. Most states are letting students use electronic devices to monitor medical needs and meet the terms of their special education plans. Some are allowing exceptions for translation devices if English isn’t a student’s first language or when a teacher wants students to use devices for classwork.

There are some unusual exceptions, too. South Carolina’s original policy allowed an exception for students who are volunteer firefighters. West Virginia’s new law allows smartwatches as long as they are not being used for communication.

Some parents and students oppose the rules

But by far the most high-profile exception has been allowing cellphone use in case of emergencies. One of the most common parent objections to a ban is that they would not be able to contact their child in a crisis like a school shooting.

“It was only through text messages that parents knew what was happening,” said Tinya Brown, whose daughter is a freshman at Apalachee High School, northeast of Atlanta, where a shooting killed two students and two teachers in September. She spoke against Georgia’s law at a news conference in March.

Some laws call for schools to find other ways for parents to communicate with their children at schools, but most lawmakers say they support giving students access to their cellphones, at least after the immediate danger has passed, during an emergency.

In some states, students have testified in favor of regulations, but it’s also clear that many students, especially in high schools, are chafing under the rules. Kaytlin Villescas, a sophomore at Prairieville High School, in the suburbs of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is one student who took up the fight against bans, starting a petition and telling WBRZ-TV in August that Louisiana’s law requiring a school day ban is misguided. She argued that schools should instead teach responsible use.

“It is our proposition that rather than banning cellphone use entirely, schools should impart guidelines on responsible use, thereby building a culture of respect and self-regulation,” Villescas wrote in an online petition.

Most states provide no funding to carry out laws

A few states have provided money for districts to buy lockable phone storage pouches or other storage solutions. New York, for example, plans to spend $13.5 million. But states have typically provided no cash. New Hampshire lawmakers stripped a proposed $1 million from their bill.

“Providing some specific money for this would kind of ease some of those implementation challenges,” Hoffman said. ”That said, most states have not.”

Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; and Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; contributed to this report.