Weaver Fintech, the owner of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) provider PayJustNow, says it is prepared for greater regulatory oversight of the sector and supports measures that improve transparency and protect consumers.
The company was responding to mounting global scrutiny and legal opinion that the product currently risks overextending consumers financially, prompting calls for tighter regulation and more responsible lending practices.
CEO Sean Wibberley told Business Day on Tuesday that the group already had systems in place to report all new and repeat BNPL transactions to credit bureaus, a step he believed should be mandatory for all operators.
Global regulators in markets such as Australia, the US, the UK and Europe have been tightening rules on BNPL, with a focus on affordability assessments and limiting overuse. Wibberley said a “fit-for-purpose” digital process would be essential locally, given that PayJustNow’s average facility limit is R2,500 and the product carries no interest or fees.
“The worst thing that could happen is if the regulator requires an ordinarily long process in order to approve a customer … that’s not viable from a financial inclusion point of view,” he said.
Weaver favours using behavioural modelling and electronic affordability checks, which it already employs, to keep bad debt low. The group’s BNPL bad rate is below 2% of gross merchandise value, meaning more than 98% of capital is repaid on time, a performance Wibberley said compares favourably with traditional lending portfolios.
Legal experts say the product currently sits in a “regulatory grey zone” in SA. According to an analysis by Webber Wentzel partners Lerato Lamola and Anél de Meyer, BNPL providers often argue they fall outside the National Credit Act (NCA) because they charge no interest and operate on short payment cycles. That allows them to avoid registration with the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and the affordability checks required of credit providers.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA’s) oversight is also limited, as BNPL firms generally do not offer financial advice under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. The result, according to the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) cited in the analysis, is “a regulatory void” where consumers face reduced transparency, limited recourse and inconsistent contract terms.
Webber Wentzel has noted the ambiguity, with the NCR taking limited action against providers and the FSCA yet to issue explicit guidance. Without clear jurisdiction, Lamola and De Meyer warn that enforcement becomes reactive, often occurring only after consumer harm has materialised.
According to Lamola and De Meyer, the proposed Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill could address local gaps by clarifying jurisdiction, expanding credit definitions and improving enforcement, supported by closer cooperation between the NCR and FSCA.
They warn that BNPL’s frequent integration into retail platforms also raises liability risks for merchants, as seen in the UK where accountability can extend beyond the credit provider, and urge SA retailers to assess partnerships for operational, consumer protection and reputational risks.
Wibberley maintains that BNPL is “a very consumer-friendly product” when managed responsibly, noting that it is interest-free, and operates with small limits. He says Weaver’s existing fraud and affordability models underpinned by AI and behavioural analytics position the group to adapt to whatever rules emerge.
Weaver, which generated 98% of its group profit from fintech in the latest half-year, sees BNPL as a key growth driver alongside lending and insurance. The group’s interim results to June showed headline earnings per share (heps) up 45% to 285.5c, with profit before tax rising 48% to R370m.
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