The regulation of Buy Now Pay Later is a long time coming. In the meantime, lenders in this sector haven’t been making any contribution to the funding of debt advice. It's time for #BuyNowToPayNow

Following the Chancellor's Mansion House speech there have been calls for the FCA to review its creditworthiness and affordability rules. In this blog, we argue these regulations are not the reason why fewer low income households have been able to access credit in recent years. Those calling for a watering down of consumer protections are ignoring the wider context of the cost-of-living crisis which has made consumer credit less affordable.

The Bank of England's latest Financial Stability Review uses a new measure of household debt burdens, designed to take account of cost-of-living pressures. We provide our assessment, arguing for greater transparency concerning its method of calculation. At present, the Bank may be underplaying the financial stability risks associated with household debt and further interest rate rises could compound this further.

As the cost-of-living crisis deepens, Executive Director, Damon Gibbons, questions whether credit expansion to households is part of the solution, or whether it would be better to extend help to service providers in return for commitments to keep prices down.

The House of Lords will this week debate an amendment to the Financial Services Bill to ensure a “fair debt-write down” is incorporated within Government’s plans for a Statutory Debt Repayment Plan.