New ‘buy now, pay later’ affordability checks may cover even smallest loans
Lenders may have to carry out affordability checks on even the smallest buy now, pay later loans under new rules drawn up by the City watchdog,The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)on Friday published details of its plan to regulate the £13bn buy now, pay later (BNPL) market,The proposals include requiring firms to offer support to customers in financial difficulty,Borrowers will also be able to complain to the financial ombudsman service if something goes wrong,Sarah Pritchard, the FCA’s deputy chief executive, said the regulator had wanted to police the sector for some time, amid rapid growth in demand for this type of loan.
According to the regulator, BNPL lending has grown from £60m in 2017 to more than £13bn in 2024,Now “people can benefit from BNPL while being protected”, said Pritchard,The loans are a way to spread the cost of purchases without paying interest, with the payment option, offered by lenders such as Klarna and Clearpay, regularly popping up at online checkouts,But concerns have been raised that some people could end up taking out loans that they cannot afford to pay back on time, incurring charges,The biggest users of BNPL are adults aged 25-34, with the cohort also skewed to those living in the most deprived areas of the UK.
The FCA said BNPL, although unregulated, had entered the mainstream as 10,9 million UK adults had used it at least once in the 12 months to May 2024,Of this group, 1,1 million had a debt of £500 or more outstanding, and 5,3 million owed £50 or more.
The FCA intends to make BNPL loans of under £50 subject to new creditworthiness checks.Just over half of these loan agreements involve advances below £50, so ignoring them could leave “borrowers exposed to harm”, it said.Without this scrutiny there is also a risk that “loan stacking” – taking out loans from multiple providers – would not be covered by regulation.Vikki Brownridge, the chief executive of the debt charity StepChange, said that as BNPL was now “as common as using an overdraft” among UK adults, it required “proper” regulation.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotion“Whilst BNPL can be a useful budgeting tool, it can deepen debt problems, and it is important struggling consumers are afforded the same level of protection as for other forms of credit,” she said.
Like the financial firms who offer mortgages and secured loans, BNPL lenders will have to become FCA-authorised.They have six months to apply from when the regime comes into force on 15 July 2026.The proposals are set out in a consultation document, and BNPL lenders and consumer groups have until 26 September to respond.
Is Pret’s mega salad actually mega expensive? | Letters
Your article says that it costs £8.14 per portion to prepare a version of a premium salad sold at Pret for £12.95 (Supersize me: recreating Pret’s £13 miso salmon super plate at home, 11 July). However, Pret’s charge includes 20% VAT. It also covers the cost of refrigeration, premises, the wages (and holidays and pension and national insurance contributions) of the staff who fill and clean the fridges, those who prepared and sold the salad, the accountants and human resources managers behind the scenes, the staff training and Pret’s work with homeless people to give them employment and a future
Company insolvencies fall in England and Wales, in ‘glimmer of relief’; Trump blasts Fed board – as it happened
Just in: the number of companies in England and Wales falling into insolvency dropped last month.The Insolvency Service has reported that there were 2,043 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales in June, 8% lower than in May 2025 (2,230) and 16% lower than in June 2024, when 2,430 companies failed.That could ease some concerns over the health of the UK economy, as companies tackle rising inflation and higher taxes.Despite the drop, monthly company insolvency numbers in the first six months of 2025 were slightly higher than the second half of 2024, but remain lower than the 30-year annual high seen in 2023.The Insolvency Service says:Company insolvencies in June 2025 consisted of 332 compulsory liquidations, 1,585 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 111 administrations and 15 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
OpenAI launches personal assistant capable of controlling files and web browsers
Users of ChatGPT will be able to ask an AI agent to find restaurant reservations, go shopping for them and even draw up lists of candidates for job vacancies, as the chatbot gains the powers of a personal assistant from Thursday.ChatGPT agent, launched by Open AI everywhere apart from the EU, not only “thinks” but also acts, the US company said. The agent combines the powers of AI research tools with the ability to take control of web browsers, computer files and software such as spreadsheets and slide decks.It follows the launch of similar “agents” by Google and Anthropic as interest grows in AI models that can handle computer-based tasks by judging which software is best to use and toggling between systems to autonomously complete assignments like drafting travel itineraries or carrying out work research.“The hope is that agents are able to bring some real utility to users – to actually do things for them rather than just outputting polished text and sounding impressive,” said Niamh Burns, senior media analyst at Enders Analysis
UK’s £225m AI supercomputer, Isambard-AI, launches in Bristol
Britain’s new £225m national artificial intelligence supercomputer will be used to spot sick dairy cows in Somerset, improve the detection of skin cancer on brown skin and help create wearable AI assistants that could help riot police anticipate danger.Scientists hope Isambard-AI – named after the 19th-century engineer of groundbreaking bridges and railways, Isambard Kingdom Brunel – will unleash a wave of AI-powered technological, medical and social breakthroughs by allowing academics and public bodies access to the kind of vast computing power previously the preserve of private tech companies.The supercomputer was formally switched on in Bristol on Thursday by the secretary of state for science and technology, Peter Kyle, who said it gave the UK “the raw computational horsepower that will save lives, create jobs, and help us reach net zero-ambitions faster”.The machine is fitted with 5,400 Nvidia “superchips” and sits inside a black metal cage topped with razor wire north of the city. It will consume almost £1m a month of mostly nuclear-powered electricity and will run 100,000 times faster than an average laptop
‘Still not sure’: Shane Lowry casts doubt over two-shot penalty decision at Open
Shane Lowry said he was conscious of his reputation after accepting a two-stroke penalty for a rules infringement during the second round of the Open. Lowry was adamant he did not see his ball roll backwards in rough at the 12th hole during a practice swing, with officials determining he was in breach of the rules of golf.Lowry was informed of a potential issue on the 15th before detailed discussion after he closed out on the 18th green. Lowry’s 70 became a 72, leaving him 10 adrift of the tournament leader, Scottie Scheffler, with his score on the 12th changed from five to seven.“I was in there with the rules official and wasn’t arguing my case but I’m disappointed that they don’t have more camera angles on it,” Lowry said
Scottie Scheffler takes lead at the Open while Fitzpatrick drives British hopes
Imagine he cared. Imagine he really cared. Scottie Scheffler used media duties before the 153rd Open Championship to assess the pointlessness of golf in the grand scheme of life. “If I win, it’s going to be awesome for two minutes,” Scheffler asserted. The world No 1 should already prepare for his 120 seconds of ecstasy
Two UK charities donate millions to Israeli settlement in occupied West Bank
Hopes of averting doctors’ strike after ‘constructive’ meeting with Streeting
Patients in England’s most deprived areas wait longer for NHS treatment, data reveals
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