Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) providers will soon need to conduct affordability assessments before offering credit under new reforms through the upcoming Consumer Credit Act 2025 (CCA).
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that this was to promote responsible lending and prevent borrowers from falling into unsustainable debt.
BNPL transactions in Malaysia have reached RM7.1 billion.
“Assessing a borrower’s ability to take on debt is a key requirement that BNPL companies must comply with before extending credit.
“This is to ensure borrowers can repay without experiencing serious financial stress,” Amir Hamzah said in response to a question from Young Syefura Othman (PH-Bentong).
He said the Consumer Credit Commission (CCC) would monitor BNPL providers’ compliance.
“If there is any non-compliance that harms credit consumers, the CCC will have the authority to take regulatory and enforcement action. This may include administrative action, civil or criminal proceedings, or compound offers.”
The CCC’s supervisory approach, he said, prioritises consumer protection, focusing on fair treatment, transparency and the development of a responsible credit market.
He added that the government would continue promoting financial literacy to help Malaysians make better decisions and avoid reliance on BNPL schemes.
Separately, Amir Hamzah, who is also acting economy minister, said the first detailed use of the Central Database Hub (Padu) would be to implement targeted subsidies for RON95 petrol, pending the full rollout of the subsidy rationalisation programme.
So far, nine applications from government agencies have been approved to use Padu data, which integrates 30.4 million individual profiles covering, among others, demographics, income, education and vehicle ownership.
Amir Hamzah also said efforts to falsify information in Padu to obtain subsidies would not be tolerated.
The system will require users to re-validate their data, and only verified information will be used.
To promote wider data-sharing, a guideline was issued to ministries and agencies in February, with training sessions held between February and June to improve data literacy and support policy-making.
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