From 15 July 2026, buy now, pay later (BNPL) services like Klarna, Clearpay and PayPal Pay in 3 are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This is a positive change — it gives you new rights and protections when you use BNPL. Here's what's changing, and what it means for your credit report and score.
What's changing
For any BNPL agreement you take out from 15 July 2026:
- Lenders must check you can afford to repay before lending to you — even for small amounts. These are usually 'soft' checks, which other lenders can't see and don't affect your score.
- You'll get clear information upfront about how much you owe, when payments are due, and what happens if you miss one.
- If you miss a payment, the lender must contact you quickly, explain what it means, and point you to free debt advice.
- If something goes wrong with a purchase over £100 (up to £30,000) — like faulty goods — the lender is jointly responsible for putting it right, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
- If you have a complaint the lender can't resolve, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free.
What's not changing
The new rules only apply to agreements you take out on or after 15 July 2026. Anything you agreed before then isn't covered — so older purchases don't get Section 75 protection or access to the Ombudsman.
BNPL itself works the same way: it's still interest-free, and you can still be charged late fees if you miss a payment.
Will this affect your credit score?
Not by itself. The new rules don't change how BNPL appears on your credit report, and they don't require BNPL companies to report your borrowing to credit reference agencies. Reporting information to Credit Reference Agencies is still at lenders discretion.
What matters for your score is the same as before: missed BNPL payments that end up with a debt collection agency or as a default can appear on your credit report and stay there for up to 6 years. Paying on time is the best way to protect your score.
Why a BNPL account may not show in ClearScore
Your ClearScore report comes from Equifax, our data provider. Not all BNPL companies share information with every credit reference agency — for example, Klarna currently shares data with Experian and TransUnion, but not Equifax.
This means a BNPL account might appear on a report from another company but not in ClearScore. That's not an error — different credit reference agencies simply receive different information.