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- Purchase control: the limit on payment in installments is proposed to be raised to 100 thousand rubles.
Purchase control: the limit on payment in installments is proposed to be raised to 100 thousand rubles.
In Russia, they propose to raise the threshold for purchases through BNPL services (buy now, pay later) to 100 thousand rubles without transferring data to credit bureaus. Such a letter (Izvestia has it) was sent to the State Duma by the Public Consumer Initiative. In the current version of the bill, this amount is equal to 15,000 — it will be more difficult to get loans over. As a result, customers will be cut off from the opportunity to buy furniture and large household appliances in conditions where bank loans are not available — people will have to go to MFIs and gray creditors, social activists fear. However, the Central Bank is convinced that the installment market should be regulated in almost the same way as the lending market. Izvestia investigated the pros and cons of paying in installments.
Is there a limit on purchases in installments now?
The bill, which gives the Central Bank the right to regulate BNPL services, passed its first reading in the spring of 2025. In particular, the document provides for the introduction of a limit of 15 thousand rubles for the purchase of goods with payment in installments without entering information in the credit history. However, this amount is too low, according to the Public Consumer Initiative (OPI). The organization sent its own comments on the bill to Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the Financial Market Committee of the State Duma (Izvestia has the document at its disposal).
The letter notes that setting a limit on the installment amount of 15 thousand rubles will deprive Russians of the opportunity to use a convenient payment tool for goods and services. When purchasing for a higher amount, BNPL services will need to request personal data from the customer and transfer them, along with other information about the contract, to the Credit History Bureau (BCI). As a result, it will be more difficult to approve transactions above the threshold proposed by the Central Bank.
The OPI believes that the amount of 15 thousand rubles can cover only food, clothing, shoes and small electronics. Large machinery, furniture, building materials, auto parts, medical, travel and other goods and services remain outside the limit. As a result, the document says, citizens will have to take out loans from banks, which are now reluctant to approve loans due to the strict requirements of the Central Bank and interest rates, or apply to MFIs. In the latter, interest rates can reach up to 292% per year, which will contribute to an even greater increase in the debt burden of the population, public activists warn.
"The amount of fees charged by operators from sellers for joining the service (usually 1-2% of the price of goods and services sold by installments) is negligible compared to the rates on bank loans or microloans," the letter says OPI.
Social activists propose to set a limit on purchases in installments of at least 100 thousand rubles. The organization also believes that the obligation to transfer data to BCI with a low level of profitability of BNPL services will negate the advantages and prospects for their development.
What goods and services are bought in shares
The format of regulation of the new market under discussion carries risks for users, according to Oleg Pavlov, Chairman of the OPI. According to him, BNPL services are becoming an increasingly popular tool that helps to keep goods affordable for people, despite rising prices.
The service "Shares" supported the proposal to increase the threshold for purchases in parts. They believe that a limit of 50 thousand rubles is needed to close the needs of the BNPL market. Against the background of rising prices, average receipts can greatly exceed 15 thousand. According to their data, in 2024, the top 5 popular categories included clothing and shoes, cosmetics, jewelry, sports and travel. Other market participants and BKI did not respond to Izvestia's request.
However, the Central Bank has consistently advocated stricter regulation of the new market. The Bank of Russia told Izvestia that it is important to protect the rights and interests of installment users at the same level as the borrower who issued the consumer loan is currently protected.
The person who uses this service should understand what its real cost is, what liability and penalties may be for violating payment deadlines, including with free installments, they said.
The Central Bank participates in discussions on the limit of installment obligations, information about which is not transmitted to the BCI. The threshold of 50 thousand rubles is currently being considered.
— Transferring data to the BCI will ensure the necessary balance of interests between the service operators and the people who use it. It will also be possible to track debt in this segment and reduce the risks of bankruptcy for low-income citizens. This is an equally important factor along with ensuring financial accessibility," the regulator concluded.
Are there any risks of purchases with payment in installments
Marketing in the form of "buy now, pay later" actually means significant fees both for the installment plan itself and for the fact of the slightest delay in payments, said Elman Mehdiyev, founder of the credit history verification service Kredchek. According to him, if fines are defined in the law for banks and MFIs, then the BNPL market is — at least for now — outside this regulation and penalties can be any.
— The amount after which you need to transfer data to the BCI should still start from 15 thousand rubles, especially since the average per capita monthly income in Russia is below 60 thousand, — says Evgenia Lazareva, project manager of the Popular Front For Borrowers' Rights.
In her opinion, if the services do not share information about the customer's purchases in installments, there may be a significant gap between the consumer's real debt burden and that taken into account by creditors. As a result, the risks of bankruptcy will only increase.
According to the expert, according to various estimates, the BNPL market grew by 20-25% in 2024 (whereas in 2023 it grew by 10-15%). The average receipt is close to 7-10 thousand for a purchase, and on average there are 3-4 active contracts per buyer.
Increasing the limit to 100,000 does carry risks, says Polina Gusyatnikova, Senior managing partner at PG Partners law firm. In her opinion, 15 thousand rubles is the best option that will ensure maximum transparency of the lending market. Although, according to Ivan Uklein, Senior Director for bank ratings at Expert RA, a compromise in dialogue with the market around the amount of 50 thousand is quite possible.
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