NEWS
In the news
BNPL to appear on credit reports Credit reporting company Equifax will be the firm major firm to begin including Buy Now Pay Later data in credit reports, it was revealed in December.
Base rate rises for first time in 3 years In December, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to increase the Bank of England base rate from 0.1% to 0.25%, marking the first rise in more than 3 years.
see rates increase. About the change, mortgage expert Ray Boulger, said: "as the market factors in further increas- es, we can expect mortgage rates to rise further." The rate increase could also affect savings accounts, which will be good news for savers as savings rates have been poor. By encouraging saving and discouraging borrowing, the MPC aims to take cash out of the economy and slow the price rises. With the increasing price of fuel and energy driving inflation, only time will tell if this change will be enough to balance an unstable economy.
The increased rate, which influences what borrowers pay and savers earn, was a result of official data published to show prices rising at the fastest rate for more than a decade. Driven by high UK inflation, prices are rising rapidly, which had prompted calls for interest rates to be increased in an effort to lessen price spikes. Whilst this won't affect any fixed rate mortgages yet, those on a standard variable rate or tracker mortgage could
Equifax intends to persuade BNPL providers such as Afterpay and Klarna to begin reporting their con- sumers' data to the company. In a statement, chief product officer at Equifax, Mark Luber, said: “Most BNPL providers either bypass the credit check com - pletely, or do a soft pull on credit files, which can be attractive to consumers". “We are encouraging BNPL provid - ers to report into Equifax as a pow - erful source of data. Those who use BNPL services that report can demonstrate reliable behavior and boost their credit profile.” With payment giant Klarna holding over 50% of the share of global BNPL sector, getting the provid - er on board will be the first major step in tapping into this ever-more popular payment method.
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