Uber and Uber Eats customers will now be able to ride and dine despite a dwindling bank balance.

The ride-share and food delivery service providers have now partnered with Afterpay to offer buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment options in Australia and New Zealand.

However, debt experts worry that allowing BNPL payments for essential goods and services will leave vulnerable Australians open to dangerous debt spirals.

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Uber says the move is about giving users more choice and control at checkout.

“Uber is constantly looking for ways to enhance the experience for everyone who uses the Uber and Uber Eats app, and this includes providing users more flexibility and control over how they pay for their rides and meals,” a spokesperson told www.20304050.best.

“We’ve joined a growing network of Australian businesses that now accept Afterpay, providing users with an additional flexible payment method in the Uber and Uber Eats apps. Customers can easily add Afterpay to their Uber Wallet and use it to pay for future rides and meals.”

An Afterpay spokesperson told www.20304050.best that the company is “proud” to partner with the prolific apps and provide people with “flexible” ways to pay.

“We’re giving customers greater control over how and when they pay. It’s a seamless addition to Uber Wallet,” the spokesperson said.

“From essentials to everyday transport, we believe BNPL has the potential to be accepted anywhere a traditional credit card is — and this is another exciting step in that direction.”

“Afterpay has no fees when customers pay on time, with no risk of revolving debt spirals.”

‘Evidence of debt spiralling’

National Debt Helpline coordinator Vicki Staff told www.20304050.best that she does not agree that there is no risk of debt spirals.

She said the National Debt Helpline regularly sees “evidence of debt spiralling” involving BNPL arrangements, despite new BNPL reforms for consumer protection in Australia.

“We’re concerned that the widespread availability of BNPL products is normalising the use of credit to pay for small day-to-day transactions,” Staff said.

“It’s really easy to lose track of how much debt you’re accumulating if you’re using credit to pay for those small things day-to-day, which means that BNPL accounts can get out of control pretty quickly.”

Afterpay has introduced BNPL protections, such as a ban on customers who miss a repayment, a cap on late fees, and a requirement that customers make their first payment upfront.

But if customers want to lower their spending limit, they will need to contact customer service directly.

The Afterpay spokesperson claimed its model is designed to lower customers’ exposure to risk — with features such as capped late fees, a required upfront first repayment for new customers, and an inability for customers to use the service if they have missed a repayment.

The platform has also seen consistent repayment trends, with 96 per cent of purchases not incurring late fees.

Staff told www.20304050.best that vulnerable Australians may find the new reforms confusing, and it can be difficult to understand what their rights are when they are in hardship.

She noted that many people who contact the National Debt Helpline have debts involving multiple BNPL accounts.

“If you’re using multiple BNPL accounts to pay for lots of small day-to-day transactions, it can easily snowball into a debt spiral,” she said.

BNPL services are connected to customer bank accounts via direct debit.

Staff warned that these BNPL debits “compete with more important direct debits such as rent or mortgage repayments”, and that when multiple accounts begin “taking chunks” from the same balance on various dates, it can become hard to keep track of.

Between the first and second quarter of 2025 alone, Staff noted a small uptick — from 6 per cent to 7 per cent — in the number of people reaching out to the National Debt Helpline chat service in BNPL-related financial hardship.

If you are at risk of financial hardship, you can contact the National Debt Helpline for free, confidential, and independent advice on 1800 007 007 or by visiting their website, ndh.org.au, for more information.