Julie Morgan

Go out and make it a great day.

Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning.

It's good to have you here on this Friday, February 13th.

I'm Julie Morgan.

As we embark on this holiday weekend, you've probably noticed the sales and maybe even already given into the power of advertisement.

And soon, likely next week, that special item will grace your doorstep in a box that's being put together as we speak.

One of the options you may have noticed at checkout was for buy now, pay later.

The concept isn't new.

Credit cards have been around since the mid-1900s, essentially a way to buy now and pay later.

The New York Fed says Americans' credit card debt has topped $1.28 trillion.

But we aren't talking about credit cards today.

We're talking about that option you have when you buy something online, and it allows you to choose how to pay.

Credit or debit cards are always welcome.

Some merchants also allow you to use an account that is built into your phone, like Apple Pay.

Still others offer the option we're focusing on today.

Buy now, pay later, using Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, or PayPal to name a few.

Those companies allow the consumer to split their payments into smaller amounts, zero interest, no credit check.

Usually, the set number of payments is four with no interest, but if you need more time, you could be hit with interest, and the companies show you how much up front.

So how do they make money?

The retailers.