National Pay Back a Friend Day – October 17, 2024

U.S.

Timeline
Importance
Observe

After conducting an in-depth study on how money affects relationships, Bank of America designated October 17 as National Pay Back a Friend Day. This study, which is called the “Friends Again Report,” found that 53% of its participants have ended a friendship after they loaned a friend money and were never paid back. As a way to combat this issue, National Pay Back a Friend Day was created. So on October 17, put away the bad feelings, pull up your mobile payment apps, and start paying your (ex) friends back.

National Pay Back a Friend Day timeline

1998

The trailblazer for online payments launched.

Did you know PayPal started under the name Confinity?

2012

PayPal came out on top

Braintree acquired Venmo for $26.2 million. (PayPal later bought Braintree for $800 million.)

2017

Another payment app popped up

Zelle, a payment app owned by many of the big banks (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Chase to name a few), launched a person-to-person payment system.

How to Observe National Pay Back a Friend Day

Pay back a friend (duh)
Obviously, the best way to celebrate National Pay Back a Friend Day is to pay back a friend. And thanks to all the apps out there these days, finding someone is easy — and so is paying them back.
If you can’t pay them back (yet), find other ways
Offer them free babysitting. Or dog sitting. Or whatever. Just be sure to acknowledge that they loaned you money — and thank them for helping you out.
Organize your finances
Use National Pay Back a Friend Day as an opportunity to figure out other debts you may have (credit card, money you may owe to family members, student loans, etc.) and make a proactive plan to get caught up.

4 Reasons To Keep Friends And Money Separate

IOUs can leave a friendship MIA
Nearly 80 percent of Americans feel that owing a friend money is bad for their friendship.
Millennials have a bad rep
Lots of people believe that millennials are the demographic that will most likely not pay a friend back.
Apparently there’s a price on friendship
Nearly half of all Americans are willing to terminate a friendship because of money.
People have lost thousands to friends
The amount of money people claim they’ve loaned to friends—and were never paid back—averages out to $2,092.

Why National Pay Back a Friend Day is Important

Debts cause stress—this can help alleviate it
Losing a friend over money is stressful. This day puts us on the road to healthier friendships — and finances.
It helps improve your communication skills
Talking about money is hard — especially with a friend. National Pay Back a Friend Day is a reminder to step out of your comfort zone and acknowledge the awkward feelings.
It can help mend lost friendships
If you’re feeling regret about a friendship lost due financial issues, National Pay Back a Day Friend is the perfect time to reach out. And if things don’t go the way you planned, at least you can have peace of mind knowing you tried.