In recent years, there has been a continual rise in base rates, which began in December 2021 and is expected to continue into 2024. At first glance, these increases appear as calculated policy decisions designed to slow down demand for goods by increasing the cost of borrowing whilst incentivising people to save. However, in the real world, these...
18 September 2023 Banking Regulations
The fintech industry has played a big part in delivering more financial services to the masses, but when it comes to innovation and having a positive impact on consumers - not all is created equal. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is a case in point. This alternative source of payment method, which enables consumers to break up purchases into manageable i...
11 August 2023 BNPL
The FCA’s new consumer duty regulations, coming into force on the 27th of July, require firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. Financial Institutions are concerned about the new regulations, often requiring them to overhaul many processes left untouched for decades on end. Herein lies the golden opportunity for nimble fintechs; by bu...
06 July 2023 Financial Inclusion
Ketharaman, Lets agree to disagree.
I feel sellers of products and services have a shared responsibility. Car manufaturers are responsible for faults in the vehicles, finance providers are similarly responsible.
Thanks for amazing comments.
I'm keen to hear other views as well. Do you agree or disagree.
14 Aug 2023 16:15 Read comment
Thanks for your comments, always love a lively debate.
I think you're missing the point. I agree, BNPL does provide liquidity in a market where there is rarely any. It also very cleverly avoids regulation by not having lending or loans or debt in their language.
The challenge is ultimately that people who use it still face the same issues, they are challenged financially, they have low financial literacy and when a "lending" product presents itself as anything but and then when you face repayment issues treats you as a bad customer with penalty rates and reports to credit beaurues. The end result is the same, you end up destroying any chance of that individual borrowing cheaply in the future and ultimately have to resort to debt advice and recoveries.
With a rise in use of BNPL for buying essentials should be sending alarm bells for the economy.
Having been on your side of the fence, I must admit to having some prvilege bias and expecting all customers to be knowledgable and understand the contracts they get themselves into. Being on the other side I can admit it is not always the case.
We know poverty premium is real, poorer in society pay more to access the same services and we need to be aware of the intended and unintended consequences of financial products.
I'm not saying there should be more regulation, I'm saying treat your customers with care (beyond the point where they can afford your products) and if you can't then you need to be regulated and told to care for your customers like all the incumbent lenders that don't understand how to treat a customer with care and need the Duty of Care to tell them.
14 Aug 2023 10:56 Read comment
Iosif ItkinCEO at Exactpro
Andrew WhiteCEO at FundApps
Hugh Kingdonceo at fintechia
Stephane RioCEO at Opensee
Abe SmithCEO at Paymentology
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