Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) providers will be brought under full Financial Conduct Authority regulation from 15 July 2026, giving 11 million UK users access to stronger consumer protections for the first time, the regulator has announced.

The move follows the Government’s decision to bring previously unregulated deferred payment credit within the FCA’s remit. From next summer, firms will need authorisation to offer BNPL products and will be subject to the regulator’s Consumer Duty, which requires companies to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.

Under the new rules, lenders must provide clear, upfront information on repayment schedules and charges, carry out proportionate affordability checks before each loan, and offer support to customers in financial difficulty. Consumers will gain the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service for agreements taken out after 15 July 2026, and Section 75-style protections will apply to purchases between £100 and £30,000.

Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the FCA, said: “We want the Buy Now, Pay Later sector to thrive – it provides an important source of credit to many – and we will continue to support firms who want to develop innovative new products. But crucially, no one should be lent to if they're unable to repay, because that could worsen their financial situation. Now Parliament has given us the powers, we’re putting in place proportionate protections for the 11 million people who use it.”

The FCA said the market has expanded from £0.06 billion in 2017 to more than £13 billion in 2024. Its 2024 Financial Lives Survey found that 20 per cent of UK adults, or 10.9 million people, used BNPL in the year to May 2024.

When the rules were initially outlined by the FCA in July 2025, consumer finance expert Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert warned that the premise of BNPL as an offering is “too often sold as a lifestyle choice” and that shoppers should still “be very careful”.

Firms can apply to join a temporary permissions regime between 15 May and 1 July 2026 and will then have six months to seek full authorisation.

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