thanks for the input coppergazA couple of things US regulations...

thanks for the input coppergaz
A couple of things US regulations tightened like hell after the GFC and it was extremely hard to get a credit card for young people and still is today. That's a biggie.
So younger people cannot access credit as easily as they can with bnpl. A huge draw in the US.
2. Preferences. The GFC and the banks getting away with it the world over people and younger people don't like banks and the legacy model they have. Bnpl with their mobile app.and ease of use. Consumers are adverse to credit cards. So yes people could just get a credit card. People could eat baked beans on weetbix, but they just don't want to.
I'm late 30s I've had 1 or two credit cards most my adult life. But now I'm only having a debit card attached to savings account. My preferences have changed. After covid and virgin collapsing, i caged out my points and I've quit QFF as that's old school legacy rewards programs, i don't believe QFF will ever be what it was again. Not with things like cash back rewards and the like that Zip offer.
3. The process of getting a credit card isn't easy. It's time consuming. Applying puts a mark on my credit file. At one point in applied for three different refinance on my mortgage and the third one rejected me because as a result of the three credit queries run my credit score dropped below the threshold needed to be approved!
bnpl if used responsible with its lower limit has less impact on credit scores.
4. Consumers wanting choice. This is a biggie. Like i mentioned Afterpay covers a miniscule amount of total merchants avail in the US. I can't say for sure if consumers in the US are using Zip like i do here in Auatralia as the products are a bit different let's be honest. Quadpay is just like Afterpay except non merchants there is a small cost to consumers

5. Taking advantage of sales using bnpl! This is a huge one. When sales come onany stores won't be covered by Afterpay. Consumers will want to be able to get that item at 50 percent off. Say a new watch was 1400 reduced to 700. And no Afterpay. Will they pay 4 dollars to get it while on sale? I let you decide that. A pair of designer jeans 250 down to 120; the consumer knows at best these even.on a decent sale still cost 160, but the sale today is for 120! So if they use quadpay that costs 4 dollars they still save 36 dollars over the 160 price.
Quadpay allows consumers to make their own choice what they want to buy to maximise the discounts they can get WHILE still.spreading those payments over 4 easy installments.

If a merchant hasn't got Afterpay and there is that sale for the jeans at 120 and the young consumer does not have a credit card. And he or she is big on bnpl. Which one will they use to purchase the jeans? It can't be Afterpay because Afterpay isn't accepted there. Quad is accepted everywhere!

In the UK thousands surveyed under 3 years of age half don't own a credit card. And of that 50 percent, 90 percent said they won't get a credit card. Ie especially with younger cohort they don't want or plan to have a credit card.
It seems you really struggle with the idea that people don't want credit cards anymore. I get it. It's the same trend the world over.

Afterpay is the only bnpl of the top 4 (Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay, Zip) that doesn't offer a buy anything anywhere feature. So it's not an advantage to not offer it. Afterpay is at a disadvantage here no doubt
The app download data the last few months of Zip and Klarna in both ANZ and the US support that consumers are loving these apps that charge for the convenience of using bnpl anywhere.