SPRITE+ is an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Digital Economy NetworkPlus, that stimulates new directions for research relevant to security, privacy, identity, and trust

Dr. Gauri Sinha (Royal Holloway, University of London), Dr. Lindsey Appleyard (Coventry University), Dr Jo Briggs (Northumbria University), Dr Tahir Abbas Syed (University of Manchester), Dr Deepak Padmanabhan (Queen’s University Belfast), and Dr Lucia Cervi (Lancaster University) have been awarded £37,492.91 by SPRITE+, funded by EPSRC.

The project is titled ‘Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) in the UK: Current and emergent digital vulnerabilities’. The objective of the research is to investigate threats through new FinTech BNPL business models/services operating in the UK. This is crucial due to the pace of innovation around this emerging form of unsecured credit, the growth of the market and the lack of regulation around this type of credit. The research aims to influence policy and practice at a range of stakeholder institutions, ultimately leading to the protection of vulnerable consumers.

The grant was a result of an intensive two-week ‘sandpit’ on digital vulnerabilities, where interdisciplinary experts from across the UK came together to foster new ideas. In the end, five projects were selected for funding after presentations to a funding panel.