• Black Friday, Black Week, Cyber Monday… – the holiday season shopping frenzy is underway. We buy without even needing to have the funds, after all, we can pay later...
• Beware! “Buy Now Pay Later” is a loan! It can lead to excessive debt and affect your credit score.
• In its latest “Check if you can afford it!” campaign, the President of UOKiK warns consumers of the financial consequences of deferred payment purchases.

The holiday season shopping frenzy has kicked into full swing. The President of UOKiK regularly appeals to consumers not to fall into this frenzy. It's not easy – temptations are becoming more abundant, marketing tricks are getting more and more sophisticated and, on top of that, new e-commerce solutions make it so that purchases don't even require money in the account. The “Buy Now Pay Later” service means that lack of funds or a credit card is no longer an obstacle in many stores.

- Most of us succumb to the holiday season shopping rush, to a greater or lesser extent. At every turn we are tempted by ads for “unique products,” “perfect gift ideas” and “super promotions.” We are also being encouraged to defer payment at an increasingly more frequent rate. Consumers, especially young people, readily take advantage of that solution. That is why we want to draw attention to the financial consequences of that consumer trap. Beware! Deferred payment purchases can lead to excessive debt and affect credit score” - urged Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

What are deferred payments all about?

Deferred payments, known as “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL), involve sellers, either on their own or through payment operators, offering customers the option to pay for their purchases at a later time (usually after 30 or 45 days). Including with an option to break the amount payable down into instalments. It's a tempting solution on its own, and yet it’s additionally heavily advertised by e-commerce platforms – “quickly, easily, without extra costs”. Therefore, it’s not surprising that interest in shopping with deferred payment is growing rapidly, including in Poland.

Where lies the problem?

Taking advantage of the “Buy Now Pay Later” offer can be attractive, especially in the face of increased holiday spending. However, it does carry risks. The more purchases made in this way and the longer the deferral periods, the more likely they are to be forgotten. It’s possible to take on a lot of new financial commitments and not notice when the red line of spiraling debt is crossed. In 30 or 45 days, depending on the deferral period granted by the seller, it may turn out that there are too many financial commitments to repay in the short term.

You should also be aware that deferred payment is actually a loan. If you do not pay on time, you will incur additional costs, including interest fees. Same as with a credit card or an overdraft limit granted on a bank account. The financial consequences, however, can be much more serious and long-term. One of them is a downgrade of credit score or, in the case of defaulting on payments, even loss of creditworthiness or an entry in the register of debtors.

The growing popularity of deferred payments is confirmed both by a survey conducted for the Credit Information Bureau (BIK) at the end of 2022, which shows that the number of Poles using this form of payment increased year-on-year by 25 percent, and by last year's data from companies offering this service. For example, one of the main deferred payment operators in our country reported that in 2023 the number of transactions they brokered increased year-on-year by 66 percent, and their value by 71 percent. It should also be noted that the record day in this regard was last year's Black Friday.

Join the UOKiK campaign!

Consumer problems that may follow in the wake of the soaring popularity of deferred payments has prompted the President of UOKiK to launch an information campaign.

- The launch date of the “Check if you can afford it!” campaign is, of course, no coincidence. This is a period of major advertising and promotional activities, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, followed by a period of pre-holiday shopping and post-holiday sales. If you add to that the ability to buy without having to look at your wallet, you have a finished recipe for great shopping and a possible debt trap. We are conducting this campaign to ensure that deferred payment does not turn into a deferred burden for consumers that is difficult to bear. Therefore, I strongly encourage the media, institutions, organizations and stores to join our campaign!” - said Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

We have prepared various formats for spots and graphics: for TV, radio, websites, social media, LCD screens. They are meant to make consumers aware of two things. First of all, deferred payment purchases are purchases on loan. Secondly, by buying multiple items, in multiple places, with different payment due dates, it is easy to lose control of your spending and get into a debt spiral.

As of today, the spot can be seen and heard on radio, television, the internet and in public spaces. More than 60 partners have already joined the campaign: radio and TV stations, institutions and organizations, and websites.

Find out more about our campaigns: uokik.gov.pl/en/social-campaigns.