Citizens Advice responds to new Buy Now Pay Later protections

18 Oct 2024 12:49 PM

Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, responded to the Treasury announcement that new protections will be brought in for the Buy Now Pay Later sector 

“We’ve long called for regulating the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) market and are glad to see the government making this a priority.

“We know the difference this can make to so many people's lives. Compared with two years ago, our advisers are helping more than twice as many people with a BNPL issue. Many are struggling to repay credit they can’t afford or falling behind on essential bills or needing emergency support, like food bank vouchers.

“Proper regulation can prevent this spiral. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must act swiftly to set rules that protect consumers from unaffordable borrowing once the necessary legislation is in place.”

Additional information: 

• In 2024 so far, we have helped 4024 people with a BNPL issue. This is more than double the amount of people we helped in the whole of 2022 (1595 people). 
• In 2024 so far, we have already helped 44% more people than we helped with a BNPL issue in the whole of 2023 (4024 against 2802 people in 2023).
• Most of those we have helped (79%) with issues relating to BNPL are facing difficulties dealing with debt repayments.
• Around 1 in 5  (21%) of those who have come to us with a BNPL issue have also needed a food bank referral or other charitable support.

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 2.66 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2022-23. And we had 60.6 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 16,000 trained volunteers, working at over 1,600 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.