Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure

Relja, Ruffin; Ward, Philippa; Cook, Richard; Zhao, Anita

doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115380

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Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure

Ruffin Relja

, Philippa Ward, Richard Cook, Anita Zhao

Journal of Business Research, Volume: 194, Issue: 194, Start page: 115380

Swansea University Author: Anita Zhao

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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115380

Abstract

This mobile ethnographic research explores the pain and power exchange within buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), an unregulated financial service that allows consumers to purchase and defer payments, often interest-free, over a set period. However, consumer pain when entering into BNPL purchase payment plans...

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Published in:	Journal of Business Research
ISSN:	0148-2963
Published:	Elsevier BV 2025
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69242

first_indexed	2025-04-08T15:29:11Z
last_indexed	2025-05-20T06:51:13Z
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spelling	2025-05-19T14:09:55.0359698 v2 69242 2025-04-08 Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure ea60dfdee64a02b6d5536c75f2575a00 0000-0003-2957-8300 Anita Zhao Anita Zhao true false 2025-04-08 CBAE This mobile ethnographic research explores the pain and power exchange within buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), an unregulated financial service that allows consumers to purchase and defer payments, often interest-free, over a set period. However, consumer pain when entering into BNPL purchase payment plans is poorly understood. This research reconfigures fragmented BNPL user experiences and identities through mosaicking, introducing three novel BNPL user archetypes that articulate the framing of pain. Language games are used to combine work on BNPL and BDSM (bondage, discipline, domination, submission, sadism, and masochism) communities to promote multi-paradigmatic understandings of the underlying phenomena. The Credit Dom(me) trades in transformed pain, is pain-averse, and seeks pleasure. The BNPL Switch views pain as an investment and is receptive to pain to gain an advantage. The Debt Sub views pain as sacrifice, is prone to suffering, and is willing to bear the BNPL provider’s additional liabilities. While power imbalance is always present, the archetypes adhere to the BDSM precepts of being ‘safe, sane, and consensual’. Journal Article Journal of Business Research 194 194 115380 Elsevier BV 0148-2963 Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL); Power and Pain; Kink and Pleasure; Discipline and Control; Mobile Ethnography 1 5 2025 2025-05-01 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115380 COLLEGE NANME Management School COLLEGE CODE CBAE Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This research received no specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 2025-05-19T14:09:55.0359698 2025-04-08T15:56:34.6366387 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Marketing Ruffin Relja 0000-0001-9569-6247 1 Philippa Ward 2 Richard Cook 3 Anita Zhao 0000-0003-2957-8300 4 69242__34052__f5f05e8742b64294a02579361816f6da.pdf Relja et al 2025 JBR_Credit Dom(me)s BNPL switches and debt sub experiences of pain and pleasure.pdf 2025-04-16T15:33:42.3229201 Output 5323943 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CC BY license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 318 Anita Zhao 0000-0003-2957-8300 a.l.zhao@swansea.ac.uk false 3
title	Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure
spellingShingle	Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure Anita Zhao
title_short	Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure
title_full	Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure
title_fullStr	Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure
title_full_unstemmed	Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure
title_sort	Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure
author_id_str_mv	ea60dfdee64a02b6d5536c75f2575a00
author_id_fullname_str_mv	ea60dfdee64a02b6d5536c75f2575a00_***_Anita Zhao
author	Anita Zhao
author2	Ruffin Relja Philippa Ward Richard Cook Anita Zhao
format	Journal article
container_title	Journal of Business Research
container_volume	194
container_issue	194
container_start_page	115380
publishDate	2025
institution	Swansea University
issn	0148-2963
doi_str_mv	10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115380
publisher	Elsevier BV
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department_str	School of Management - Marketing{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Marketing
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description	This mobile ethnographic research explores the pain and power exchange within buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), an unregulated financial service that allows consumers to purchase and defer payments, often interest-free, over a set period. However, consumer pain when entering into BNPL purchase payment plans is poorly understood. This research reconfigures fragmented BNPL user experiences and identities through mosaicking, introducing three novel BNPL user archetypes that articulate the framing of pain. Language games are used to combine work on BNPL and BDSM (bondage, discipline, domination, submission, sadism, and masochism) communities to promote multi-paradigmatic understandings of the underlying phenomena. The Credit Dom(me) trades in transformed pain, is pain-averse, and seeks pleasure. The BNPL Switch views pain as an investment and is receptive to pain to gain an advantage. The Debt Sub views pain as sacrifice, is prone to suffering, and is willing to bear the BNPL provider’s additional liabilities. While power imbalance is always present, the archetypes adhere to the BDSM precepts of being ‘safe, sane, and consensual’.
published_date	2025-05-01T05:27:39Z
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score	11.089386

Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure

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