‘Phantom debt’ from ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes is a $700 billion black hole that economists aren’t accounting for

Wall Street is generally convinced the economic health of the U.S. consumer is remarkably better than expected after COVID, but one analyst has pointed out there's a gaping hole in the picture. He calls it "phantom debt"—spending on "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) platforms, which often goes unrecorded by credit agencies.