Photo: IMAGO/Angel Santana Garcia/IMAGO/Westend61
Photo: IMAGO/Angel Santana Garcia/IMAGO/Westend61

Ideas

The Rise of ‘Cute Debt’

Female shoppers are being pushed toward buy-now-pay-later services.

First published in The Atlantic on August 16, 2025

by Annie Joy Williams, The Atlantic
August 21, 2025 | reading time: 8 Min.
On the subway a few weeks back, I noticed an ad for a “buy now, pay later” service from Cash App. It read: “Little payments are so much cuter.” This ad wasn’t made for men, I thought..

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