The consultation document on Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) draft legislation outlines our recommendations for strengthening consumer protection. We emphasise the need for clearer pre-contractual information to ensure consumers understand BNPL as a form of debt. Whilst supporting simplified regulations, we stress that oversight by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must guarantee clarity around fees, consequences of missed payments, and repayment options. We advocate for tracking consumer borrowing to aid debt management and recommend stricter controls on BNPL marketing to protect vulnerable individuals. We also propose that BNPL firms contribute to funding free FCA-authorised debt advice and ensure accessible information for customers with limited digital literacy.
