Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets finds BNPL customer-journey changes can cut debt-collection referrals and costs

The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets published research with BNPL provider in3 showing that giving customers more time before referral to a debt-collection agency, combined with an additional payment reminder, can help customers avoid collection costs. The tested changes reduced the share of customers entering a collection process by almost a third, while leaving the share of customers still in arrears two months later unchanged. The study assessed 7,425 customers with payment arrears and found that both the sending of a reminder and its content mattered, with reminders explaining the consequences of late payment associated with earlier repayment and fewer transfers to collections where costs were at least EUR 40. The AFM noted that such interventions are unlikely to resolve issues for customers with structural financial problems and pointed to expected obligations under the revised EU Consumer Credit Directive (CCD2), including rules on information provision, creditworthiness assessment and legally required adequate arrears-management policies and processes, expected to take effect in November 2026. The AFM encouraged BNPL providers, as well as other parties involved in arrears management such as credit providers and debt-collection agencies, to test customer-journey adjustments and to evaluate their effects carefully.