Does offering buy now, pay later make my webshop a credit provider?
Usually not. If a separate BNPL company grants the credit, that company needs an AFM licence and your shop is at most an intermediary on the side. Your own interest-free 'pay later' stays outside the rules only if the customer pays within 50 days of delivery, or within 14 days if you are a large online seller.
Does offering buy now, pay later make my webshop a credit provider?
Usually not. The revised Consumer Credit Directive, Directive (EU) 2023/2225 or CCD2, ends the exemption that kept most buy now, pay later (BNPL) arrangements outside consumer credit law. When a separate BNPL company grants the credit, that company becomes the creditor and needs a licence from the AFM. Your shop presents the option at checkout, which makes it at most a credit intermediary acting on the side.
The answer changes when the credit is yours. A webshop that lets customers pay its own invoice later stays outside the Directive only within tight limits on time, cost and who finances the debt.
Which pay-later models are credit?
| How 'pay later' works | Credit under CCD2? | What the webshop needs |
|---|---|---|
A BNPL company pays you and the customer repays that company | Yes. The BNPL company is the creditor. | Nothing as creditor. As an intermediary on the side, a small or medium-sized shop is in principle exempt from the licence; a large company registers with the AFM (Art. 2:81 Wft). |
Your own invoice, free of interest and charges except limited late fees, no third party offering the credit, paid within 50 days of delivery | No, excluded by Art. 2(2)(h) | Nothing under CCD2 |
The same, but you are a large company selling online at a distance | Excluded only if paid within 14 days of delivery and no third party offers or buys the credit | Nothing, within those limits |
Your own instalments with interest or fees, or longer than those windows | Yes. You are the creditor. | An AFM licence (Art. 2:60 Wft) and the full set of creditor duties |
When do the new rules start?
CCD2 itself says the national rules apply from 20 November 2026 (Article 48). In the Netherlands they come from bill 36924, the Implementatiewet herziene richtlijn consumentenkrediet. The Tweede Kamer passed it on 6 October 2026. The Eerste Kamer has set 27 October 2026 as the date for its first written questions and has not scheduled a vote, and the Act takes effect on a date set by royal decree. A Dutch start on 20 November 2026 is therefore unlikely.
The AFM has accepted licence applications since June 2026, at the applicant's own cost and risk, and a licence cannot take effect before the Act does. Credit cards with deferred debit get six months more after the Act takes effect.
What changes at checkout
Most of the new duties sit with the BNPL company, but customers meet them in your checkout. Before granting any credit, the company must assess creditworthiness thoroughly and may only lend if the customer is likely to repay (Article 18). The Dutch draft implementing decree drops the lower limit for consulting the BKR credit register, so the register is checked before every credit, however small.
Under-18s lose access entirely. The Dutch bill allows credit to a minor only with a guardian's consent and never for deferred payment of goods or services, which is exactly what BNPL is. Advertising may no longer suggest that credit improves someone's financial situation (Article 8(7)(a)).
On 6 October 2026 the Tweede Kamer also adopted motions asking for a mandatory warning sentence at BNPL checkouts and for AFM guidance on which everyday payment and invoicing methods fall under the credit rules. Motions are requests to the government, not law yet.
Questions and answers
We are a small webshop and use a BNPL provider. Do we need an AFM licence?
In principle no. The BNPL provider is the creditor and needs the licence. The explanatory memorandum says small and medium-sized businesses that act as credit intermediary on the side are in principle exempt from the licence requirement.
When does the 50-day period start?
On delivery of the goods or the service, not on the order date. Article 2(2)(h) requires that payment is entirely made within 50 days of delivery.
Can customers under 18 still use pay later?
No. The Dutch bill closes deferred payment to minors even with a guardian's consent, and providers must check the date of birth against a reliable source.
What applies if the Dutch law is late?
A directive binds the Member State, so until the Dutch Act takes effect the current Dutch rules keep applying to your shop. Plan on the Dutch date, not the EU one, and ask counsel how a late start affects contracts you sign in the meantime.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2023/2225 on credit agreements for consumers (CCD2)EUR-Lex · 18 October 2023
- Wetsvoorstel 36924, Implementatiewet herziene richtlijn consumentenkredietEerste Kamer
- Wetsvoorstel 36924: stemming Tweede KamerTweede Kamer · 6 October 2026
- Korte aantekening commissie Financiën, 13 oktober 2026Eerste Kamer · 13 October 2026
- Nota naar aanleiding van het verslag, 36924Tweede Kamer · 29 June 2026
- Ontwerpbesluit implementatie herziene richtlijn consumentenkrediet (voorhang)Ministerie van Financiën · 12 June 2026
- Stemmingsoverzicht Tweede Kamer, 6 oktober 2026Tweede Kamer · 6 October 2026
- CCD2: vraag uw vergunning aanAFM · 18 June 2026
- Nieuwe regels voor buy now, pay laterRijksoverheid · 31 October 2025
Authorities
Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM)
The AFM is the Dutch conduct supervisor. It supervises how financial firms behave towards their customers and towards the market: investment firms, asset managers, intermediaries, crypto-asset service providers, audit firms, trading venues and listed issuers. Whether those firms are financially sound is DNB's question, not the AFM's.
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