Klarna to offer “Pay Now” option

The move by the BNPL firm will mean UK consumers are able to pay immediately and in full, wherever the platform is available. It’s also looking to strengthen its affordability checks and checkout language, providing more ways for consumers to challenge complaints decisions.

The “Pay Now” scheme has been launched alongside a package of consumer-focussed changes to drive standards across the UK consumer payments industry. Critical to this is, it’s beginning to leverage its open banking services.

Its consumers will also be able to securely share income and spending data from their bank accounts to confirm they can afford future repayments. This supports its commitment to financial inclusion by giving safe access to credit for those individuals with a limited conventional credit history.

In addition to this, the company will remove any remaining late fees from its regulated financing product, giving consumers the opportunity to spread the cost of higher value purchases over six to 36 months.

Commenting on the news, Klarna’s co-founder and chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski said: “We firmly believe that most of the time, people should pay with the money they have, but there are certain times where credit makes sense.

“In those cases, our BNPL products offer a sustainable and no cost healthy form of credit - and a much needed alternative to high cost credit cards. The changes we are announcing mean that consumers are fully in control of their payments whether they pay now or pay later.”