Credit Score Basics > Does Laybuy affect your credit score?

Does Laybuy affect your credit score?

Wollit Team1 minute read · Updated 29th June 2024

Laybuy is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service that allows you to purchase items from its partner stores and then pay for them in six equal, interest-free weekly instalments.

While the other BNPL services like Klarna and Clearpay which don't report your payments to the credit reference agencies, Laybuy does. This means that it can potentially affect your credit history.

How does Laybuy work?

If you're planning to use Laybuy, this is what you need to know:

To use Laybuy, you need to go through a credit check. Laybuy then assigns you a credit limit based on your credit score.
When making a purchase, you'll have to pay 1/6 of the total upfront, with the remaining 5 payments automatically deducted from your linked debit or credit card each week.
If you make all payments on time, Laybuy is free to use.
But if you miss an instalment, then a £6 late payment fee is charged, up to a maximum of £24 per purchase.
Laybuy also offers a physical "Laybuy Card" that can be used for in-store purchases. The service is available at over 3,000 retailers in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.

How can Laybuy affect my credit score?

Using Laybuy can impact your credit score in a few ways.

First, when you apply for Laybuy, you'll have to go through a hard credit check. This can temporarily lower your credit score, especially if you have multiple hard checks in a short amount of time. To stay on the safe side, Experian recommends you not make more than two credit applications every six months.

Second, since September 2022, Laybuy started reporting all payments to Experian. However, these payments don't actually count towards the Experian credit score. This means two things:

Missing a Laybuy instalment won't hurt your credit score. However, lenders can see them when viewing your Experian credit file, which means that you probably want to make sure you make all repayments on time.
You can't use Laybuy as a credit-building tool. Your timely repayments won't give your credit score a boost. At least not yet.

If you are looking for a credit-building tool, consider an app like Wollit. Wollit is a 12-month credit-building plan where you pay a monthly fee, which Wollit then reports as a loan repayment to all the leading credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). Unlike Laybuy, Wollit actually helps build your credit history, which is the main factor that goes into calculating your credit score.