Citizens Advice responds to announcement of draft legislation for Buy-Now-Pay-Later

Tom MacInnes, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said:

“After years of campaigning on this issue, we welcome today’s announcement of draft legislation to bring Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) under much-needed regulation. This is a crucial step towards better protections for consumers.

“For too long, people have been exposed to unaffordable debt from a BNPL sector that has operated in a regulatory grey area. For some, this has had dire consequences. Many people are struggling to repay credit they can’t afford, falling behind on essential bills and often needing emergency support, like food bank vouchers.

“But this is by no means the end of the road. We now need to see the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) act swiftly to set out the strong consumer safeguards that are so urgently required.”