What is Buy Now, Pay Later?

BNPL lets you split a purchase into installments, right at checkout. It sounds like a payment tool. It’s actually a credit product.

For years it avoided regulation:

→ No credit checks

→ No bureau reporting

→ No assessment of clients’ ability to repay

The result: between 34% and 41% of users miss payments, and no one in the system can see how much they owe across platforms.

Regulators across four continents have now reclassified it as credit. The evasive features were not an accident. They were the design.

CONSUMER’S  &  REGULATOR’S CORNER

Consumer’s Corner

⚠️ WATCH OUT FOR

• “Zero interest” plans that hit you with big fees the moment you’re late
• Marketing campaigns and influencers that try to convince you that BNPL is a lifestyle choice
• Using BNPL on multiple apps at once. Before you realize all your debts, you will likely be overindebted.

Regulator’s Corner

🇪🇨 Ecuador: What happens to your money if your bank or cooperative fails.

🇰🇪 Kenya: Develops an umbrella financial consumer protection framework.

🇺🇾 Uruguay: Central bank launches 2026-2030 roadmap for open, interoperable finance.

🇪🇸 Spain: Banks banned from issuing unsolicited credit cards effective April 2026.

🇳🇬 Nigeria: ATM card fees rise as transfer costs fall to boost digital payments.

SPECIAL NEWS

We made it to Forbes! Our founder and managing partner Diana E. Chacón sits down with Forbes Ecuador to talk about what it means to develop laws and regulations to protect consumers in the Global South. Read it here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

DCC BNPL Policy Paper Launch | May 21 • Diana Chacón Consulting

The official release of DCC’s policy paper on BNPL regulation. Stay tuned for the link.

Conference on Financial Market Regulation | May 7 • SEC Headquarters, Washington, DC

Exchange of views between participants from academia, government, industry.

WATCH OUR VIDEOS

• What is BNPL and how does it work?
• A plain-language explainer for consumers and policymakers.