Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The real concern here is from the consumer's point of view. Under the arrangement that I have just mentioned, there is no credit being charged along the line. The shop is going to pay commission back to the credit provider. There is no interest charged anywhere in the system. While such credit may not come at a cost to the consumer, there is nevertheless a concern that the consumer, if not adequately assessed, could overborrow. We do not want consumers going around several shops and doing this and building up unsecured debt. The concern is that some consumers could overborrow and may have difficulties in meeting their financial commitments. This is to help prevent overborrowing. Therefore, it is considered prudent to address this matter and ensure that any person which advertises the provision of BNPL credit to consumers, including interest- and cost-free BNPL credit, will fall within the scope of the Consumer Credit Act and within the scope of Central Bank regulation. Really, we are talking about the practice whereby companies are providing the funding indirectly, no interest is being charged to the consumer, the shop is not charging the consumer any interest or credit, and the finance provider is not being paid by way of interest, but is being paid through commission from the shop. We are concerned that if that practice escalates, people might overborrow. The best way of preventing that is to ensure that the provider of that credit falls under the scope of the Central Bank regulation and the Consumer Credit Act. There will be the normal credit checks in relation to the credit that people are building up. We cannot do that-----