Buy Now Pay Later

Subscribe to Buy Now Pay Later via RSS

The Department of Housing and Development is seeking information about the impact that the frequent use of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) products may have on borrowers’ ability to meet housing-related expenses, including rent or mortgage payments. Comments are due on or before August 25, 2025.

“The rise of BNPL lending raises important questions about how it may impact housing affordability and stability,” the department said, in issuing a Request for Information.… Continue Reading

Having previously announced that it was withdrawing its Buy Now, Pay Later rule, the CFPB recently said that it does not intend to issue a revised rule.

“The Bureau has determined that it does not intend to reissue the BNPL Interpretive Rule because it was procedurally defective and the interpretation included therein applied ill-fitting open-end credit regulations to BNPL products, which are generally structured as closed-end loans,” the CFPB said, in a status report it submitted in a lawsuit filed by the Financial Technology Association.  … Continue Reading

The CFPB will not make enforcement of its Buy Now, Pay Later rule a priority, according to a recent statement.

“The Bureau will instead keep its enforcement and supervision resources focused on pressing threats to consumers, particularly servicemen and veterans,” CFPB officials said in a statement. “The Bureau takes this step in the interest of focusing resources on supporting hard-working American taxpayers, servicemen, veterans, and small businesses.… Continue Reading

The CFPB intends to revoke its Buy Now, Pay Later interpretive rule, according to a status report and joint motion to stay filed by the Bureau and the Financial Technology Association (FTA) in a case brought by the FTA challenging the rule.

The revocation is one of several steps the Trump Administration is taking to reverse Biden Administration CFPB actions.… Continue Reading

Alleging that the CFPB rushed to promulgate its interpretive rule, and exceeded its authority in doing so, the Financial Technology Association has filed suit against the bureau in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contending that the rule falls short on several counts.

Among other things, in the suit, the FTA contends that federal law, the Administrative Procedure Act, required the CFPB to treat the rule as a legislative rule, and, therefore, to go through the notice and comment process in issuing the rule.… Continue Reading

Today’s podcast, which repurposes a recent webinar, is the first in a two-part examination of the CFPB’s use of an interpretive rule, rather than a legislative rule, to expand regulatory requirements for buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) products. Part Two, which will be available next week, will focus on the CFPB’s use of a proposed interpretive rule to expand regulatory requirements for earned wage access (EWA) products.… Continue Reading

“Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) products emerged relatively recently as a new approach enabling consumers to enjoy the ability to make a purchase and then pay for it over time. Today’s episode, during which we explore the evolution of BNPL products and important recent developments in BNPL regulation, is hosted by Alan Kaplinsky, former practice leader and current Senior Counsel in Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, and features Ballard Spahr Partners Michael Guerrero and Joseph Schuster.… Continue Reading

On August 13th, 2024, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, we will hold a webinar covering the CFPB’s BNPL interpretive rule and its proposed earned wage access (“EWA”) interpretive rule.  For more information and to register, click here.

On July 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB” or “Bureau”) proposed an interpretive rule that states (1) EWA products fall under the definition of “credit” under the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) and Regulation Z and (2) fees for certain tips and for expedited funding are finance charges.… Continue Reading

The result of the CFPB’s multi-year study of the BNPL industry is what the CFPB calls an interpretive rule in which it finds that: (1) “digital user accounts” (each a “DUA”) that may be used to access credit are “credit cards” under Regulation Z; (2) the lenders that issue such accounts are “card issuers;” and (3) that as it relates to traditional BNPL loans (loans that are payable in four or fewer installments with no finance charge) these card issuers are “creditors” subject to subpart B of Regulation Z—the provisions typically applicable to open-end credit.… Continue Reading