Legal Analysis of Buy Now Pay Later Services and Household Financial Vulnerability

Abstract

This study examines the rapid development of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services in Indonesia, their implications for household financial vulnerability, the legal challenges arising from their implementation, and the strengthening of consumer protection through an economic law approach. Employing a normative juridical method, the research analyzes statutory regulations, legal doctrines, academic literature, and relevant studies concerning financial technology and digital consumer protection within the Indonesian legal framework. The findings reveal that while BNPL services enhance financial inclusion and facilitate access to digital consumption, they also increase the risks of excessive consumer indebtedness, household financial instability, and unequal bargaining positions between consumers and digital platform providers. The study further identifies several regulatory challenges, including limited transparency of contractual terms, inadequate supervision of debt collection practices, low levels of legal and financial literacy, and ineffective consumer dispute resolution mechanisms. In this context, preventive legal protection refers to regulatory measures designed to prevent consumer harm before disputes occur, particularly through transparency obligations, responsible lending standards, and effective oversight mechanisms. The economic law approach adopted in this study emphasizes the integration of consumer protection principles with sustainable digital market governance. Theoretically, this research contributes to the development of a preventive legal protection framework that links BNPL regulation with household financial resilience. Practically, it proposes regulatory reforms focused on transparency, platform accountability, responsible lending, and consumer empowerment to support sustainable digital financial governance and strengthen household financial security in Indonesia.