CLEARPAY customers have lashed out at the lender after finding their accounts have suddenly closed \u2013 due to tough new regulations on Buy Now Pay Later providers.<\/p>\n
It comes after new laws were introduced to bring Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) firms in line with other lenders such as banks and credit card companies.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up to The Irish Sun\u2019s daily newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
They now need to carry out tougher affordability checks before offering credit, resulting in some existing users being blocked from Clearpay.<\/p>\n
One surprised customer wrote on a Facebook support group: \u201cAfter using Clearpay for years and having got my limit of \u00a31,500 they have closed my account\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI use this regularly and am quite upset that they have done this after using it for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another added: \u201cI\u2019ve had the account for years and not missed any payments. I\u2019ve been a loyal customer\u2026 it\u2019s ridiculous and unfair for them to do this without contacting me with a reason why.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others also complained of a lack of communication about the closure of their accounts.<\/p>\n
Clearpay did not comment, but it\u2019s understood the accounts were shut following affordability checks due to the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations, and outstanding balances will be written off.<\/p>\n
Providers including Clearpay and Klarna often appear as options at online checkouts and enable people to spread the cost of purchases in instalments \u2013 a method known as \u201cdeferred credit\u201d which has previously been unregulated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From July 15, all BNPL firms must conduct affordability checks before every transaction to ensure the borrower can easily pay off the debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new rules will also force them to support those in financial difficulty, as well as be upfront about when payments are due and what happens if you miss one.<\/p>\n
A Klarna spokesperson said: \u201cKlarna\u2019s called for regulation since 2020, so this is a moment we welcome. The FCA\u2019s rules closely reflect what we\u2019ve long asked for, and they largely formalise what we already do.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor most of our 12 million customers in the UK, the way they use Klarna won\u2019t change and they\u2019ll gain new protections like Section 75 cover and Ombudsman access.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already run affordability checks, show costs up front and report to credit reference agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cInterest-free BNPL helps people avoid other kinds of high-interest, long-term debt that damages their financial wellbeing, and regulation is good news for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n
But some shoppers claim deferred credit has led to easy spending, with one user claiming on Facebook he had splurged \u00a330,000 in three years using Clearpay.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cClearpay is a godsend for many people when it comes to birthdays, Christmas and even weekly food shops! But for some, like me, it is just another way to encourage\u00a0emotional spending,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not all BNPL providers work in the same way.<\/p>\n
Zilch, for example, operates more like a traditional credit card and was already regulated by the FCA, so is not directly impacted by the changes.<\/p>\n
The lender Affirm has also always been regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) due to offering interest-bearing, longer-term loans.<\/p>\n
Around 5.3 million people had outstanding BNPL balances in July 2025, according to the FCA.<\/p>\n
Of this group more than 1.1 million people had more than \u00a3500 of active BNPL debt.<\/p>\n
Rules may push people to \u2018black market lenders\u2019<\/p>\n
But experts have warned the new rules fail to protect those who have already fallen into debt from unregulated firms, as customers won\u2019t be able to complain retrospectively.<\/p>\n
Consumer champion Martyn James explains: \u201cThe regulations won\u2019t be retrospective, so they will only kick in for agreements signed on or after the commencement of the new rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also fears that without access to cheap credit, people could be pushed towards illegal money lending.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s likely that more people will be turned down. I worry about them being forced into the arms of black market lenders,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
For example, there is a risk people could turn to loan sharks, who target vulnerable people and charge eye-watering interest rates.<\/p>\n
An FCA spokesperson said: \u201cWe want people to be able to access credit they can afford. We\u2019ve proposed sensible checks that\u2019d help borrowers avoid unmanageable debt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people are struggling with their finances, they should contact MoneyHelper or a debt advice charity who are there to provide advice and support. No one needs to deal with financial difficulty alone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEARPAY customers have lashed out at the lender after finding their accounts have suddenly closed \u2013 due to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545730,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[8139,79,234018,18,19,17,225993],"class_list":["post-545729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-banking","tag-business","tag-debt-help","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-weekend-content"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}