The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has recently issued guidelines stating that buy now, pay later (BNPL) services should offer the same federal protections as credit cards. This includes mandatory refunds for returns or cancellations, investigations into merchant disputes, and clear fee disclosures on billing statements. Despite this new regulation, experts like Marshall Lux from Harvard Kennedy School believe these guidelines are lagging, as major BNPL providers like Affirm, Klarna, and PayPal already implement such practices. The Financial Technology Association supports these guidelines, advocating for uniform consumer protections across the industry. This change aims to ensure consistent consumer safety measures across all BNPL services, aligning them more closely with established credit industry standards.
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