CFPB Aims to Bring Credit Card Protections to Buy Now Pay Later (1)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering ways to bring consumer protection measures for credit cards to users of buy-now-pay-later products.

Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) products—which are typically installment loans that allow customers to divide a purchase into four equal payments—can be a cheaper, easier option for consumers when compared to other credit products, the CFPB said in a highly-anticipated report issued Thursday. But some problems with disclosures, dispute resolution and debt “stacking” in BNPL require more oversight, it said.

The CFPB said it was looking to identify “advisory opinions” or regulations that would bring more credit card-style protections to the BNPL ...