FICO Score 10 (and its trended-data variant, FICO Score 10 T) is the newest generation of the FICO scoring model used by many US lenders, and it was designed with newer credit products — including BNPL — in mind.
What’s different about FICO Score 10
Earlier FICO models were built around traditional revolving credit (like credit cards) and installment loans (like auto loans or mortgages). FICO Score 10 T looks at trended data — how your balances have moved over the past couple of years, not just a single snapshot — which makes it more sensitive to patterns like rapidly increasing BNPL balances.
Why this matters for BNPL specifically
- As more BNPL providers begin reporting to credit bureaus, FICO Score 10 is built to actually incorporate that data meaningfully
- A pattern of taking out new BNPL loans to cover previous ones could show up as a negative trend, even if no single payment is late yet
- Consistent on-time repayment, where it is reported, can support your score under this model the same way any other installment credit would
What this means going forward
The direction is clear even if the timeline isn’t: credit scoring is adapting to treat BNPL more like other forms of credit, not less. That’s one more reason to treat every BNPL plan — not just credit cards — as something that could eventually affect your credit file. Read the full BNPL credit score guide for the current state of reporting, and can BNPL help you build credit to see the other side of that coin.