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Citizens Advice responds to the FCA announcement on contract changes for buy-now-pay-later customers

2 November 2023

Responding to the FCA announcement on securing changes to potentially unfair and unclear contract terms for unregulated Buy Now Pay Later firms, Matthew Upton, Acting Executive Director of Policy and Advocacy at Citizens Advice, said: 

“It’s good to see the FCA using consumer law in this way but without legislation to bring Buy Now Pay Later into regulation, the FCA is acting with one hand tied behind its back. 

“It's almost three years since the government said this was “a matter of priority” and six months since the Treasury finished consulting on draft legislation. During this time BNPL has continued to grow, with the millions who use it remaining unprotected.

“With Christmas around the corner, BNPL will undoubtedly pull more people into unmanageable debt. The government must act immediately to ensure BNPL customers are protected.”

Notes to editors

  1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
  2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
  3. Citizens Advice helped 2.55 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2021-22. And we had 40.6 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
  4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 18,500 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 service outlets across England and Wales.
  5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.