There is a small percentage surcharge imposed by whoever is providing the financing, but it’s basically the same amount as what the credit card companies charge per transaction, on the order of 1-2%, so from the store’s perspective it’s the same either way. It’s not quite correct to say that customers who are not financing hot dogs are paying for others who are, but all of the customers financing hot dogs are indeed paying for each other.
On the topic of credit cards, by the way, in some states it is legal for the merchant to pass the processing costs on to the customer and in some cases the shyster bastards actually do it. To my knowledge most or all of the banks providing in store financing or buy-now-pay-later schemes in fact prohibit that practice, so there is at least that.
It’s also paid as a fee by the store, which in turn means every customer (incl those not using BNPL) is indirectly paying for it.
There is a small percentage surcharge imposed by whoever is providing the financing, but it’s basically the same amount as what the credit card companies charge per transaction, on the order of 1-2%, so from the store’s perspective it’s the same either way. It’s not quite correct to say that customers who are not financing hot dogs are paying for others who are, but all of the customers financing hot dogs are indeed paying for each other.
On the topic of credit cards, by the way, in some states it is legal for the merchant to pass the processing costs on to the customer and in some cases the shyster bastards actually do it. To my knowledge most or all of the banks providing in store financing or buy-now-pay-later schemes in fact prohibit that practice, so there is at least that.
Also you don’t get cash back from your credit card when you pay this way. Obviously for a $1.50 hotdog not a big deal but it adds up.