The Influence of Financial Literacy, Consumptive Lifestyle, and Fear of Missing Out on Interest in Using PayLater Services among Students at Muhammadiyah University of Makassar

The increasing adoption of digital financial services has introduced new consumption opportunities and financial challenges among university students, particularly through Buy Now, Pay Later (PayLater) facilities. This study examines the effects of financial literacy, consumptive lifestyle, and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) on students’ interest in using PayLater services at Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia. A quantitative approach was employed, involving 200 students selected as research respondents. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression, supported by validity and reliability assessments and classical assumption tests. The results indicate that financial literacy has a positive and statistically significant effect on students’ interest in using PayLater services. Consumptive lifestyle also demonstrates a positive and statistically significant effect, suggesting that consumption-oriented tendencies are associated with greater interest in deferred-payment facilities. Similarly, FOMO has a positive and statistically significant effect, indicating that concerns about missing trends and socially desirable consumption opportunities may contribute to students’ interest in PayLater. Furthermore, the three independent variables jointly have a statistically significant effect on students’ interest in using these services. The model produces an adjusted coefficient of determination of 0.655, indicating that financial literacy, consumptive lifestyle, and FOMO collectively explain 65.5% of the variation in students’ interest in using PayLater, while the remaining 34.5% is attributable to factors beyond the scope of this study. These findings highlight the importance of integrating financial literacy education with efforts to promote responsible consumption and awareness of social and psychological influences in digital financial decision-making. This study contributes to the understanding of factors associated with PayLater interest among university students in an emerging digital finance context.