When a BNPL instalment becomes overdue
An overdue instalment is a servicing event, not proof that the creditor may move directly to enforcement. First confirm the product is in scope, the consumer's contractual due date, whether a payment was successfully processed and whether the consumer has reported a problem with a purchase or payment method. The creditor must identify the national rules governing reminders, default interest, collections and treatment of consumers in difficulty. Under Directive (EU) 2023/2225, Article 35 addresses reasonable forbearance before enforcement proceedings, where appropriate. An excluded supplier deferral does not automatically attract those CCD2 provisions, but it may be governed by other laws and private contractual arrangements. Businesses should avoid merging all merchant payment disputes into one collection workflow without identifying the type of obligation actually owed.
Reasonable forbearance before enforcement
Article 35(1) requires Member States to require creditors, where appropriate, to exercise reasonable forbearance before enforcement proceedings begin. Such measures must account for the consumer's individual circumstances. The provision does not promise every consumer a payment holiday, extinguishment of debt or unlimited repeated offers. Creditors need not reiterate measures unless justified. Article 35 identifies changes to existing agreement terms as an included category of potential forbearance, while listing illustrative possibilities such as extending the term, deferring instalments, reducing a rate, allowing partial repayments and granting payment holidays. The wording and national law matter: not every listed option must be available in every case or every Member State. A servicing policy should set out how the creditor considers individual circumstances, determines suitable options and explains the result to the consumer.
Recognise payment difficulty before escalation
Article 36(2) requires creditors to maintain processes and policies for early detection of consumers experiencing financial difficulty. A BNPL creditor might use indicators such as repeated failed instalments, persistent short delays or customer statements that expected income has changed, provided the approach respects applicable data-protection requirements. A single technical card failure should not automatically be interpreted as inability to pay. Consumers may have several overlapping purchases with different due dates, so an account-level view may reveal risk not visible in one order. Operational staff should know how to identify a request for assistance even when it arrives through customer support instead of a dedicated hardship form. Monitoring needs to be proportionate, documented and reviewed for unfair or inconsistent treatment.
Debt advisory services and referrals
Article 36 places obligations on Member States to make independent debt advisory services available to consumers who experience, or may experience, difficulty meeting financial commitments, with only limited charges for the service. Member States must ensure that creditors refer consumers in difficulty to easily accessible debt advisory services. A provider should therefore know which services are relevant in each operating jurisdiction, what languages or accessibility formats they support and how referral information is delivered. A generic link that points to the wrong country is not a dependable referral. Such services offer independent assistance; the creditor should not portray its own collections department as an independent debt advice service. Records should show what referral information was provided without collecting unnecessary details about the consumer's wider circumstances.
Changes to repayment terms and fresh assessment
For the modification of an existing agreement's terms as a forbearance measure, Article 35 specifies that the creditor need not repeat an Article 18 creditworthiness assessment where the total amount payable does not increase significantly. This is a particular exception tied to the stated conditions, not a blanket permission to approve all new or restructured credit without assessment. When changes amount to a new agreement, substantially increase the payable total or create other regulatory consequences, the treatment needs analysis. Firms should record the original repayment schedule, reason for modification, revised schedule, charges and relevant customer communications. Contract changes must also be considered against national implementation, consent requirements and any other applicable consumer-protection rules. Staff should not suggest refinancing or debt consolidation is automatically the correct answer for the individual.
Collections governance and transition planning
Define an escalation path from a missed instalment to contact attempts, individual-circumstance review, possible forbearance, debt advice referral and any permissible enforcement. Ensure that external debt collectors and platform partners operate from current instructions and that complaints can pause or redirect an unsuitable automation where required by applicable law. Review messages for threatening or misleading language. Test how the system handles overpayments, reversals, partial payments and amended dates. Maintain evidence of outcomes, reasons for declining particular measures and referral communications. Article 47 contains transitional rules for agreements existing at the 20 November 2026 application date, so a legacy book may need a separate legal assessment. National implementing law and regulator guidance govern the precise operational application; do not treat the future CCD2 model as a substitute for current domestic requirements. Each referral and forbearance outcome should be classified separately from ordinary collection success metrics. Where a provider changes its customer servicing vendor, it should retest the escalation pathway and confirm that existing open assistance requests have not been lost in the transition. The review should include a named operational owner and an accessible consumer contact route.
Frequently asked questions
Must every overdue BNPL customer receive the same payment holiday?
No. Article 35 provides for reasonable forbearance where appropriate, taking account of the consumer’s individual circumstances and relevant national law.
Does CCD2 require early identification of financial difficulty?
Article 36(2) requires creditors to have processes and policies for early detection under the national measures implementing CCD2.
Must an amended schedule always trigger a new creditworthiness assessment?
Not always. Article 35 provides a specific exception for qualifying forbearance modifications where the total payable is not significantly increased.
Primary sources
Directive (EU) 2023/2225, EUR-Lex ↗National transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/2225, EUR-Lex ↗Read the source in its current version. National implementing measures and product-specific applicability may require additional research.