The Family Factor: Where Pay Later Providers Can Compete

Pay Later Use Across Family Types

Having children distinguishes credit card installment and BNPL users.

In July 2026, 45% of married consumers with children and 39% of single consumers with children had used credit card installments during the previous three months. The rate was 25% for each group without children.

BNPL followed the same pattern: 15% for married consumers with children and 13% for single consumers with children, compared with 5% and 6%, respectively, among those without children. Married households with children reported the highest BNPL use in every wave, tying single households with children in September 2025.

Overall pay later use followed a different order: 85% for married consumers with children, 79% for married consumers without children, 73% for single consumers with children and 63% for single consumers without children. Those figures include regular card payments and shouldn’t be read as installment adoption rates.

Among credit card users, 35% of married consumers without children typically paid their entire monthly balance and used only regular card payments as their pay later method. Just 18% of married cardholders with children met both conditions. That doesn’t mean the remaining 82% all carried a balance; some split purchases.

The installment gap also appears within each of the four income bands. That suggests income alone doesn’t explain the pattern, although small subgroup samples limit conclusions. Nor does a persistent gap mean adoption is rising. Married consumers with children reported BNPL use of 15% in July, down from 29% in May.

Openness to Pay Later Options

Households without children are more likely than those with children to say they never consider pay later.

Thirty percent of married consumers without children and 29% of single consumers without children say they never consider using a pay later option. That compares with 10% of married consumers with children and 13% of single consumers with children.

The near match between the two groups without children reinforces the broader finding. The presence of children is associated with greater openness to spreading payments across time.

Consideration and use measure different things. Saying one never considers pay later isn’t equivalent to reporting no use during the previous three months. Because the study’s broad usage definition includes regular card payments, these figures shouldn’t be treated as opposite sides of the same calculation.

For providers, this suggests a practical limit to a uniform marketing approach. Consumers who routinely cover their expenses without splitting purchases may need a different reason to consider an installment offer.

Shared Priorities, Different Preferences

Shared priorities lead to different decisions on pay later options.

All four groups place the monthly payment amount, the purchase or payment cost and whether an option is interest-free among their top three considerations when deciding whether to use a pay later option. Their order of importance differs.

Married consumers with children lead with the monthly payment amount, cited by 34%. Married and single consumers with no children also rank this as their number-one consideration, at 27% and 28%, respectively. Single consumers with children lead with the cost of the purchase or payment, at 29%. This group ranks monthly payment amount second, at 25%. Those married with children and those who are single with no children rank the cost of the purchase or payment second, at 26% and 23%, respectively.

Whether the option is interest-free ranks in the top three for all groups. Those married with children, single with children and single without children rank this third. Both groups with children, as well as those who are single without children, rank the number of installments fourth.

Rewards or cash back enter the top five only for groups without children. They rank fourth among married consumers without children, at 19%, and fifth among single consumers without children, at 14%.

The common priorities give providers a clear starting point: Explain the payment commitment and cost. The secondary priorities suggest where additional information could help consumers choose.

Pay Later for Medical Care

Payment options can influence where families seek medical care.

Among single consumers with children, 47% rate BNPL availability as very or extremely influential when choosing a provider for medical or dental bills. The figure is 35% among married consumers with children, compared with 12% among single consumers without children and 10% among married consumers without children.

The measure concerns reported influence when consumers are in the market for a category. It doesn’t establish that they used BNPL for care, changed providers or would abandon treatment without it.

The pattern extends beyond healthcare. Single consumers with children report the greatest influence in seven of the 10 categories measured, including home services at 49% and travel or vacation bookings at 45%.

Higher adoption also doesn’t necessarily mean substantially higher spending among users. Average three-month BNPL spending ranges from $756 to $817 across the four groups. These figures cover total BNPL spending across categories and rest on just 235 BNPL users, with small family-group samples.

Opportunities for Providers and Businesses

For pay later providers, the opportunity is to design around payment timing and explain the commitment clearly. Show the scheduled payment, number of installments and total repayment amount together. Make any interest or fees easy to understand.

These are product and communication implications, rather than evidence that family status determines repayment ability. Providers shouldn’t assume every household with children needs financing or faces the same financial circumstances. The income comparisons suggest potential demand across income levels, while the recent decline in BNPL use argues against assuming uninterrupted growth.

For merchants, the findings support testing whether displaying payment options before checkout helps customers make informed choices. A household comparing stores may consider payment flexibility before filling a cart. Merchants can measure completed purchases and repeat business to learn whether clearer information improves outcomes. The survey identifies reported influence, not a guaranteed sales increase.

For healthcare providers, the opportunity begins when patients learn their expected costs. Explaining available payment arrangements alongside the estimated bill could help a family facing an unexpected dental expense understand its choices. Staff should distinguish the cost of care from financing charges and explain repayment dates. The 47% finding supports treating payment information as part of the patient experience, without assuming financing alone resolves affordability.

Back to the Two Households

The two households at the beginning may hold similar cards but use them differently when bills arrive. The survey shows that households with children are more likely to split purchases and less likely to dismiss pay later options altogether. Across all four groups, payment amounts and costs remain central. For businesses, the opportunity is to make repayment choices clear at the moment consumers weigh where to shop or seek care.

Methodology

This analysis draws on the July 2026 PYMNTS Intelligence Pay Later Trendscape survey of 2,634 U.S. consumers. Trends cover 12 waves: April 2025 and September 2025 through July 2026. No waves were fielded between April and September 2025.

The data team derived four family groups from marital status and whether children under 18 live in the household. Marital status included two groups: married or in a domestic partnership, and single, which includes those who have never been married and those who are divorced, widowed or separated. The labels therefore shouldn’t imply biological parenthood or a specific number of adult earners.