Starting January 1, 2027, new rules will take effect governing the sale of goods and services to the public on an BNPL basis. The change follows the signing of the President's Steps to improve buy now pay later (BNPL) services for the public Decree.
The decree specifies that real estate, along with other property that has been withdrawn from circulation or whose circulation is restricted under law, cannot be sold through BNPL services.
The Ministry of Justice has since issued additional clarification on this provision.
According to the ministry, subclause "e" of clause 3 of the decree bars real estate from being offered as an BNPL product by licensed operators — in other words, an intermediary operator cannot sell a home on an BNPL plan. However, the ministry stressed this does not prevent a developer from selling a home it built directly to a buyer on an BNPL basis. That's because subclause "a" of clause 3 explicitly excludes direct sales from a seller to a consumer from the definition of BNPL payment services. As a result, buyers can still purchase housing directly from developers in BNPLs, just as before — the decree does not prohibit direct transactions between developers and buyers, the ministry said.
Once the decree takes effect, BNPL operators will be required to register in a dedicated registry and will operate under the oversight of the Central Bank, which will set clear requirements governing their contracts, markups and commissions.
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