The Fine Print Era: Rethinking Retail Finance

For a time, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) seemed like a rare win-win. Shoppers gained flexibility. Retailers saw conversion soar. Transactions became smoother, quicker and, for many, more emotionally gratifying. The promise was simple: split payments, no interest, no fuss.

But that simplicity was never the full story.

Now, a long-anticipated reckoning is underway. From June 2025, the UK government will formally bring BNPL providers under the watch of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The new regulations require affordability checks, clearer customer information, and proper complaint channels, placing BNPL closer to traditional credit in both responsibility and scrutiny.

It’s a seismic moment for a sector that has, until now, existed in a kind of cultural and legal twilight too new to regulate, too embedded to ignore.

BNPL uptake exploded during that vacuum. Its use rose sharply during the cost-of-living crisis, especially among younger people and families managing everyday essentials. Recent figures suggest one in eight UK adults has used BNPL in the past year, often for groceries, school shoes, or household bills.

“We’re acting to protect people from potentially unmanageable debt,” said Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Bim Afolami, in the official government statement.

But for many, that debt isn’t a future risk, it’s already here, quietly embedded in monthly repayments and missed expectations.

The power of BNPL was in its seamlessness. Unlike credit cards or loans, there was no paperwork, no friction, just a few taps and the purchase was yours. The message? No fees, no interest, no problem.

Except, as we’ve learned, there can be problems.

Behind the frictionless experience sat a wall of fine print, terms and consequences often buried or worded inaccessibly. Missed payments can lead to late fees, damage credit ratings, and trigger wider financial consequences. Many didn’t realise until it was too late.

Now the question isn’t just about regulation. It’s about responsibility.

Retailers must acknowledge that every payment option they offer is part of the customer experience. This includes how financial choices are presented and understood or misunderstood. For many Gen Z shoppers raised in a digital-first world, frictionless payments are the norm, budgeting is a shared conversation, and credit isn’t seen through the same stigma as in the past. What one person sees as flexibility, another may experience as financial stress.

Some BNPL providers, Zilch, Klarna and Clear pay amongst them, have taken many steps toward greater transparency: clearer screens, affordability nudges, easier-to-understand repayment terms. But those improvements must become the standard, not the exception.

Used responsibly, BNPL can be a really helpful budgeting tool and an enabler, offering breathing space and easing larger purchases. But that kind of responsible use requires something too often missing: informed choice.

That’s why education must now become the next big frontier in retail finance.

Consumers don’t need fewer options, they need better information and independent guidance. That means ditching jargon, simplifying the language, and embedding meaningful guidance at every step, not just in financial education courses, but in checkout flows, customer service chats, and everyday social content.

We’re entering what I call The Fine Print Era, a time when trust won’t be won through slogans or slick UX, but through honesty, clarity, and respect. Today’s shoppers are more value-driven, more cautious, and more questioning. They’re not just asking “Can I afford this?” but “What will this cost me tomorrow?”

For retailers, it’s time to rethink the entire financial user experience, not to remove payment options, but to design them with transparency at the core.

For regulators, it’s a chance to collaborate meaningfully with industry, to shape a system that protects, without paralysing innovation.

And for all of us, consumers, retailers, platforms, it’s a reminder that financial literacy isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s essential.

Credit is not the enemy. But confusion might be.