Four times as many Australians are officially struggling to pay off buy now, pay later loans since the disruptive credit offering came under national regulations, which means the reforms are working, a credit expert says.
Documented hardship rates - when borrowers are temporarily unable to meet credit payments - for BNPL agreements rose from 0.06 per cent in June 2025 to 0.24 per cent in March 2026.
Rather than catch an actual increase in hardship, the credit reforms had revealed financial stress previously hidden from the broader credit ecosystem, according to Kevin James, chief solutions officer at credit reporting agency Equifax.
"While formal hardship rates rose to 0.24 per cent by March 2026, actual short-term and late-stage arrears levels have improved," Mr James said.
