Objective Analysis: Psychology of using BNPL, page-51

You guys need to keep your head straight.

With an average transaction size of $150 and a capped late fee of $68, Afterpay has the incentive to stop people from over spending, meaning the late fee is designed to (1) discourage people from irresponsible spending (as the late fee won't cover the loss) and (2) mitigate bad debt impact. The bread and butter of the Afterpay model is merchant fee.

Interests, on the other hands, are the bread and butter for cards, this is how this product was designed few decades ago. If you can't pay your outstanding amount in full but the minimum amount, the card issuer won't stop you from clearing it because this is the only way to generate revenue except annual fee.

It's not hard to see why Afterpay is considered as a budgeting tool and it literally turns credit card model upside down. You'll never see a card issuer to create a reward program for responsible spending like what Afterpay has recently introduced.

If you don't see this you will keep on running into this meaningless debate on which model charges less fee/interest to customers.