The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is currently down by around 7%. It’s not the only one in the buy now, pay later sector. There are clouds gathering about the BNPL industry in the US.
Other declines include the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price being down 6.8%, the Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price has dropped 5.6% and the Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM) share price sank 10.6%.
What’s happening to the Zip share price?
According to reporting by media outlets such as the Australian Financial Review, the US regulator is going to start looking at the buy now, pay later industry.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a number of orders to five US players including Zip Co, Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna and PayPal. in a statement, the CFPB also said:
“The CFPB is concerned about accumulating debt, regulatory arbitrage, and data harvesting in a consumer credit market already quickly changing with technology.
“Some BNPL companies may not be adequately evaluating what consumer protection laws apply to their products. For example, some BNPL products do not provide certain disclosures, which could be required by some laws.
“And while the BNPL application may look similar to a standard checkout with a credit card, protections that apply to credit cards may not apply to BNPL products.
“Many BNPL companies do not provide dispute resolution protections available to users of other forms of credit, like credit cards. And finally, depending on what rules the lender is following, different late fees and policies apply.”
The CFPB has also outlined in a blog post some on the ‘common risks’ about “BNPL loans” – it said they often carry fees, returning products bought with BNPL loans can be complicated, that they have fewer protections than credit cards and that it was important to know how they can impact credit scores.
In summary, the CFPB doesn’t seem to be a big fan of BNPL, which doesn’t signal good things for the Zip share price. The US is a big part of the company’s growth plans.
Afterpay responds
Afterpay boasts that it provides consumers with better transparency, lower costs, and better budgeting tools than traditional forms of credit and promotes responsible spending, according to the AFR. It welcomed efforts to ensure that there are appropriate regulatory protections for consumers.
My thoughts on the Zip, Afterpay share price
Zip is clearly facing difficulties with this. In Australia, the regulator is thinking about allowing merchants to pass on BNPL costs to consumers. And now in the US, the regulator is taking a look and consumers may think twice about using BNPL if there’s more negative commentary.
Luckily for Afterpay, it’s linked to the Block Inc (NYSE: SQ) share price, formerly Square, due to the planned acquisition. However, it’s also suffering.
Things aren’t lookin good for BNPL players with more regulation, higher interest rates and unforgiving investors.
There are other ASX growth shares I’d rather focus on right now.