Martin Lewis reacts to proposals to regulate Buy-Now, Pay-Later companies

Martin Lewis reacts to proposals to bring Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) companies under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – and cautions users to "still be very wary"

Today, the Economic Secretary, Tulip Siddiq, has announced that the government is launching a consultation into regulating BNPL. This comes long after Martin and MoneySavingExpert warned that the "explosive" BNPL market needs to be regulated to protect consumers from building up unmanageable debt.

Reacting to the announcement, Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "Buy Now, Pay Later is now ubiquitous at online checkouts, so the fact it’s never been regulated is a travesty I and others have long campaigned on. The last Chancellor promised to regulate, then the tumbleweed rolled as he went silent, so I am delighted the new Government has quickly restarted the process.

"BNPL can be useful, allowing those who need to spread payments for a budgeted, necessary purchase like a plumber to do it interest-free. Yet it’s been sold as a lifestyle choice, not a debt, and pushed for instinct buys or even takeaways. Too many are in trouble with multiple BNPL repayments, leading to debt-chasing and credit file damage. Regulation will mean firms must be overt that it’s a debt, have proper affordability rules, and will crucially let people go to the ombudsman if things go wrong. Yet it’s not coming in until 2026, so people should still be very wary until then."

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