FCA attacks ‘disturbing’ Afterpay ad

John Kavanagh

Financial Counselling Australia has called on Afterpay to pull an ad featuring actor Rebel Wilson explaining the “benefits” of buy now pay later to a young girl.

Wilson tells the girl: “If credit cards and cash had a baby you could pay over time without every paying interest.”

FCA chief executive Fiona Guthrie said: “This ad is a step too far. It minimises the risk of using buy now pay later products and the fact she is talking to a young child, explaining a credit product, is very disturbing.”

Guthrie said financial counsellors were seeing a growing number of people with BNPL debt.

“People think they are harmless but the reality is they are a form of credit and should be treated that way.”

FCA pointed to ASIC research showing that 20 per cent of Australians using BNPL have missed payments are incurring late fees, and a significant number use credit to pay off their BNPL accounts.