Analysts from Bank of America do not seem too concerned about the recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) inquiry into “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) credit lending. The announcement on Dec. 16, 2021 from the CFPB ordered Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip to provide information about their products so that the Bureau could better understand the “industry practices and risks” of BNPL. Of the companies cited in the order, Bank of America analysts noted Affirm as being “well-positioned” since it does not charge the fee types nor have a high gross merchandise volume of split pay loans that were identified in the CFPB inquiry.
Overview by Ben Danner, Research Analyst at Mercator Advisory Group