New Buy Now, Pay Later rules: What they mean for shoppers

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) plans let you take home your purchase straight away and spread the cost over a series of smaller payments.

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Published: July 15, 2026 at 4:29 PM

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Millions of shoppers using Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) will gain stronger legal protections from July 15 under new rules designed to prevent people taking on debt they cannot afford.

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Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) plans let you take home your purchase straight away and spread the cost over a series of smaller payments, rather than paying the full amount upfront. Many plans are interest-free if you make your repayments on time. However, missing payments can lead to extra charges and may affect your ability to borrow in the future.

According to analysis by comparison site Compare the Market, almost half (48%) of UK adults now use BNPL products, with 1 in 10 people using BNPL at least once a month to cover essential spending such as groceries and household bills. This rises to 17% of 18 to 34-year-olds.

Until now, most BNPL products have operated outside the UK's consumer credit rules, meaning lenders have not been required to carry out the same affordability checks or offer the same protections as other forms of borrowing. From 15 July, consumers using BNPL will benefit from many of the same safeguards that apply to other loans.

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These include giving customers the right to take unresolved complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service, ensuring BNPL lenders provide clearer and more transparent information before customers commit to a purchase, and introducing affordability checks to help prevent people from taking on repayments they might later find impossible to manage.

Although shoppers will now have more protection, it’s still worth thinking carefully about purchasing goods this way. BNPL is still a form of borrowing, so it’s important to consider whether you can comfortably afford the repayments before committing to a purchase.

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You may be declined for BNPL under new rules. Getty Images

Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said: “Before choosing BNPL, shoppers should consider whether they can comfortably afford the repayments and understand the consequences of missing them. Regulation should make those decisions easier by ensuring people have clearer information and stronger consumer rights.”

So what will the changes actually mean? In practice, many shoppers may notice little difference when using BNPL. However, some applicants could now be declined if affordability checks suggest they may struggle to repay the borrowing.

Abigail Foster, personal finance expert at Compare the Market, said: “The new Buy Now, Pay Later affordability checks are there to help make sure people aren't taking on borrowing they may struggle to repay. While it can feel like an extra hurdle at checkout, the aim is to protect consumers and encourage more responsible lending.

"It's also worth remembering that these checks will often involve a soft credit search. Unlike a hard search, a soft search typically won't affect your credit score and isn't visible to other lenders, so it shouldn't be a cause for concern if you're asked to go through one.

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"If you are declined for Buy Now, Pay Later, try not to see it as a setback. It can be an opportunity to pause and reassess whether the purchase is affordable right now. Avoid rushing into more expensive forms of borrowing, as these can create bigger financial challenges in the long run.“

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