Buy Now Pay Later and High-Cost Credit Statistics UK

Last updated: 30 October 2026 · Survey data for the 12 months to May 2024 (FCA Financial Lives 2024, the latest wave); lending data to September 2026 · Compiled by IVA Advice Online from FCA and Bank of England sources

How many people use buy now pay later (BNPL), how much do they owe, and how common are payday loans and other high-cost credit? This page brings together the latest figures from the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Financial Lives survey, FCA lending data on payday and short-term loans, and the Bank of England's monthly figures on credit cards and other consumer credit. It also sets out how BNPL has been regulated since 15 July 2026.

How many people use buy now pay later?

The FCA's Financial Lives survey asked 17,950 UK adults between 5 February and 16 June 2024 about their finances. It measures use of unregulated BNPL, which the FCA calls deferred payment credit (DPC): interest-free credit, usually split into a few instalments or deferred for about 30 days, from firms such as Klarna or Clearpay.^1,2

Source: FCA, Financial Lives 2024 survey: Credit & loans, slide 129, and key findings report (© Financial Conduct Authority).^1,2

• 20% of UK adults (10.9 million) used BNPL in the 12 months to May 2024, up from 17% (8.8 million) in 2022.¹
• Use was particularly high among lone parents (40%), women aged 25 to 34 (35%) and people aged 25 to 34 (30%).^1,2
• 30% of adults with low financial resilience used it, and 29% of those in the most deprived areas, compared with 13% in the least deprived.²
• Most users used it now and then: 20% once in the year and 44% two to four times. But 1.9 million (17% of users) used it 10 or more times, up from 1.2 million in 2022.¹
• Of these frequent users, 76% were women, 67% had a personal income under £30,000, 54% had low financial resilience and 26% had missed bills or credit payments in three or more of the previous six months.¹

How much do people owe on buy now pay later?

Source: FCA, Financial Lives 2024 survey: Credit & loans, slide 131 (© Financial Conduct Authority).²

• 5.3 million adults (11%) owed £50 or more on BNPL in May 2024, and 1.1 million (2%) owed £500 or more.²
• Among people who had used BNPL in the past year, 48% owed £50 or more and 10% owed £500 or more.²
• 55% of users said they used BNPL to help them budget or to buy things they couldn't afford to pay for in one go. 53% said they used it because there were no late fees or interest, up from 48% in 2022.^1,2
• 77% of users said they knew a fee could be charged for a missed payment, and 8% had paid a late payment fee in the previous 12 months (11% in 2022).²

Buy now pay later regulation from 15 July 2026

Until 15 July 2026, interest-free BNPL from a third-party lender was exempt from consumer credit regulation. The government legislated on 14 July 2025 to bring it under FCA regulation, and the FCA published its final rules (PS26/1) on 11 February 2026.^3,4

• What's covered: deferred payment credit, meaning interest-free credit repayable in 12 or fewer instalments within 12 months, where the lender is a different business from the retailer.^3,5
• What's not covered: BNPL offered directly by the retailer itself, and any agreement taken out before 15 July 2026.⁵
• New protections: lenders must be authorised by the FCA (or hold a temporary permission), check affordability before lending, give clear information about payments and missed payments, and support customers in financial difficulty. BNPL is covered by the Consumer Duty, and customers can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.^4,5
• The FCA says BNPL lending grew from £0.06bn in 2017 to over £13bn in 2024.³

Some BNPL-style offers were already regulated before this date, for example "buy now pay later" deals that charge interest if the balance isn't cleared in time.⁵

High-cost credit use

The FCA counts payday loans, short-term instalment loans, rent-to-own, guarantor loans, pawnbroking, home-collected credit and logbook loans as high-cost credit.²

Source: FCA, Financial Lives 2024 survey: Credit & loans, slide 25 (© Financial Conduct Authority).² Rent-to-own was first asked about in 2020.

• 3.5 million adults (6.4%) held a high-cost credit product in 2024, up from 2.8 million (5.3%) in 2022.¹
• Short-term instalment loans were the most common (2.5%), followed by rent-to-own (1.9%) and single-payment payday loans (1.6%).²
• Use was highest among 18 to 24 year olds (12%) and lowest among people aged 55 and over (3%).¹
• 0.6% of adults (0.3 million) said they had borrowed from an unlicensed or informal moneylender (an illegal lender), up from 0.5% in 2022. The FCA says this may be under-reported.¹

Payday and short-term loans: how many are taken out?

High-cost short-term credit (HCSTC) is unsecured lending with an APR of 100% or more that is repaid, or mostly repaid, within 12 months. It includes payday loans. The FCA has capped what these loans can cost since January 2015.⁶ The FCA releases the number of loans made, from the product sales data lenders report to it, in response to Freedom of Information requests.^7,8

Sources: FCA, FOI2026_01319 (2024 and 2025, released 7 July 2026)⁷; FCA, FOI11798 (2017 to 2023, released 9 December 2024).⁸ Annual totals are IVA Advice Online calculations from the FCA's monthly and quarterly figures. The FCA estimated the earlier release covered over 90% of the market. The two releases are separate extracts, so overlapping figures differ slightly.

• Lenders made 1,252,916 high-cost short-term loans in 2025, worth £494 million, up 27% on 2024 (987,549 loans).⁷
• The average loan in 2025 was about £394, repayable over about 140 days on average, and the mean APR across the year was about 1,200%. IVA Advice Online calculations from the FCA's monthly figures.⁷
• Lending is far below its 2017 and 2018 levels, when 4.8 million and 4.9 million loans were made. It fell sharply in 2020 and has risen each year since 2022.^7,8
• In Q3 2024, the main high-cost short-term lenders reported receiving 13.6 million applications and rejecting 97% of them. One person may make several applications, for example through brokers.⁸

Credit cards and other consumer credit

The Bank of England publishes monthly figures on consumer credit owed to banks and other lenders: credit cards, plus "other" consumer credit such as personal loans and car finance.⁹

Source: Bank of England, Bankstats database, series LPMVZRJ, LPMB4TS and LPMBI2O⁹; Money and Credit, September 2026, published 29 October 2026.¹⁰

• Consumer credit outstanding was £261.2 billion in September 2026. The Bank of England's annual growth rate for consumer credit was 9.8%.¹⁰
• Credit card debt was £83.7 billion (32% of the total), growing by 13.1% a year. It was £63.4 billion in December 2015.^9,10
• The effective interest rate on interest-charging credit cards was 21.71%, on interest-charging overdrafts 20.79% and on new personal loans 9.85%.¹⁰
• 35.3 million adults held a credit card in 2024 and 10.1 million carried a balance from month to month. 2.8 million (5%) were in persistent credit card debt, paying more in interest and charges than they repaid over 12 to 18 months.²

If buy now pay later or high-cost debts are a problem

BNPL, payday loans and credit cards are unsecured debts. They aren't on the list of debts that can't go into a debt relief order, and they can usually be included in an IVA or bankruptcy too.¹¹ Our guides cover payday loan debt help, credit card debt help, what debts can be included in an IVA and your credit score after an IVA. Each solution has downsides as well as benefits, so it's worth getting free advice first.

About the data

• Financial Lives 2024 is the FCA's latest full survey. Fieldwork ran from 5 February to 16 June 2024 with 17,950 adults, and results were published on 16 May 2025. Most figures cover the 12 months before the interview. People are counted as BNPL users only if they named a provider of unregulated BNPL.^1,2
• Survey figures were collected before BNPL regulation began on 15 July 2026.
• Payday and short-term loan figures come from lenders' product sales data released by the FCA under Freedom of Information. They count loans, not people.^7,8
• Bank of England figures are seasonally adjusted and can be revised in later releases.¹⁰
• Reuse: FCA figures are © Financial Conduct Authority and are quoted here with attribution. They aren't included in our CSV. The CSV contains Bank of England data, which is reusable under the Open Government Licence.

Common questions

How many people use buy now pay later in the UK?

10.9 million UK adults (20%) used unregulated buy now pay later, which the FCA calls deferred payment credit, in the 12 months to May 2024. That was up from 8.8 million (17%) in 2022. Source: FCA Financial Lives 2024.

Is buy now pay later regulated?

Yes, since 15 July 2026. Interest-free BNPL agreements from a third-party lender (deferred payment credit) are now regulated by the FCA. Lenders must check affordability, give clear information, support customers in financial difficulty, and customers can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Agreements taken out before 15 July 2026, and BNPL offered directly by the retailer itself, are not covered.

How many payday loans are taken out in the UK?

Lenders made 1,252,916 high-cost short-term loans (payday and similar loans) in 2025, worth about £494 million, according to FCA product sales data released under Freedom of Information. That was 27% more than in 2024 but well below the 4.8 million made in 2017.

How many people use high-cost credit?

3.5 million UK adults (6.4%) held a high-cost credit product, such as a payday loan, short-term instalment loan, rent-to-own, guarantor, pawnbroking, home-collected or logbook loan, in the 12 months to May 2024, up from 2.8 million (5.3%) in 2022. Source: FCA Financial Lives 2024.

Can buy now pay later and payday loans be included in an IVA or DRO?

Buy now pay later, payday loans and credit cards are unsecured consumer debts, and they are not on the list of debts excluded from a debt relief order. They can usually be included in an IVA, a DRO or bankruptcy, unlike student loans or court fines. Whether a solution is suitable depends on your circumstances.

What interest rate do credit cards charge?

The Bank of England's effective rate on interest-charging credit card balances was 21.71% in September 2026. The rate on interest-charging overdrafts was 20.79% and on new personal loans 9.85%.

Using these statistics

Sources

1. Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Lives 2024: key findings from the FCA's Financial Lives May 2024 survey, published 16 May 2025.
2. Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Lives 2024 survey: Credit & loans, selected findings, May 2025.
3. Financial Conduct Authority, PS26/1: Regulation of Deferred Payment Credit (unregulated Buy Now Pay Later), published 11 February 2026.
4. Financial Conduct Authority, "New protections confirmed for Buy Now Pay Later borrowers", press release, 11 February 2026.
5. Financial Conduct Authority, Buy Now Pay Later (consumer page, updated 6 August 2026) and Regulating Buy Now Pay Later (updated 15 July 2026).
6. Financial Conduct Authority, Consumer credit: high-cost short-term credit lending data (definition of HCSTC).
7. Financial Conduct Authority, Information on high-cost short-term credit (HCSTC) loans, FOI2026_01319, released 7 July 2026 (product sales data, January 2024 to December 2025).
8. Financial Conduct Authority, Information on HCSTC data, FOI11798, released 9 December 2024 (product sales data, Q3 2016 to Q3 2024; applications Q4 2022 to Q3 2024).
9. Bank of England, Bankstats database, series LPMBI2O (total consumer credit), LPMVZRJ (credit cards) and LPMB4TS (other consumer credit), monthly, seasonally adjusted, downloaded 30 October 2026.
10. Bank of England, Money and Credit – September 2026, published 29 October 2026.
11. The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, rule 9.2 (debts excluded from a debt relief order).

This page provides general information, not advice about your circumstances.