FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 5, 2025

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: jessica.myers@mail.house.gov

c: 202.913.0126

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) led 10 of her colleagues in a letter to William Lansing, President and CEO of FICO, expressing their deep concern regarding his decision to include Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) data in credit scores:

“Without any legal requirement or other assurances to compel BNPL providers to furnish all necessary data to credit reporting agencies, we worry that the limited information provided to these agencies may not present consumers’ full financial picture. Additionally, the Trump Administration’s rescission¹ of the 2024 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) interpretative rule that declared BNPL payments as credit further troubles us, as the heightened ambiguity in this space represents a severe risk to the financial stability of working Americans and threatens to disproportionately impact marginalized or low-income communities. In recent years, BNPL options have rapidly grown in popularity and provided consumers with expanded and much-needed choices. According to a May 2025 Federal Reserve report, 15% of Americans used BNPL within the previous 12 months, compared with 10% in 2021. BNPL not only serves as a convenient way for consumers to spread out payments and manage their money, but it has also proven to be a vital asset for those who lack a credit history and would otherwise be deemed unattractive applicants for credit had they not built their block of credit through BNPL.” The Members continued, “There have been reports of BNPL companies traditionally only sharing negative credit reporting because they are not required to provide all the information, such as on time payments that could help bolster credit histories. In such instances, users are being penalized if they missed payments but—to the extent that all positive credit reporting helps consumers build credit—are not being rewarded by a company’s policy of not reporting positive credit activity. Thusly, we discourage the inclusion of BNPL in your algorithm without fully ensuring all the data is available in the strongest possible terms.”

The full text of the letter is available here.

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