Buy Now, Regret Later?

The booming ´buy now pay later´ market

George Labs

Nov 09, 2021

Hey there 👋🏻

Buy now, pay later is having a moment. Again.

Let’s explore the latest market developments together. Shall we?!

Monzo flexes the new `buy now pay later` feature

UK digital bank Monzo is jumping into the ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) market with its latest feature, Monzo Flex.

Monzo @monzo

Say hello to a better way to pay later 🤸‍♀️

Users are allowed to spread the cost of their purchases over three months interest-free. Monzo Flex also offers a 6-month and 12-month option at a 19% interest rate.

Users can buy anything using the feature as long as the transaction is more than £30 and less than £3,000. Excluded transactions include cash withdrawals, gambling, and crypto.

`Flex Now or Later` feature allows splitting a payment after purchase (up to 14 days after the transaction).

Monzo is also reportedly planning to carry out affordability checks on customers using its BNPL services and share data with credit checking agencies – features not many competitors currently provide.

Curve has quietly launched Curve Flex

Curve Flex builds on Curve’s patented and trademarked Go Back in Time technology to let customers convert almost any purchase made on any card linked to the Curve platform in the past 12-months into an installment plan.

Curve Flex has been in testing since September 2020 and the 1,600 beta users have already “Flexed” around 7,000 transactions into affordable installment loans worth over £1m.

Curve @imaginecurve

Join the waitlist here:

curve.comThe Flexible Buy Now Pay Later | Curve FlexTurn past payments into buy now pay laters with Curve Flex. Flex lets you split any* payment you’ve made anywhere in the past year into instalments.

Revolut plans to compete in BNPL market

Revolut is also in an early development stage of it´s own ‘buy now, pay later´ product. According to the CEO, Nikolay Storonsky, the product will be “Simply a button which you switch on and then your card becomes a buy now pay later product. Instead of paying upfront everything, you pay a third, and then in two weeks’ time we charge you a third and then another third.”

AltFi @AltFiNews

Revolut set to take on Klarna with its own BNPL offering, writes @aislingfinnn

buff.lyRevolut set to take on Klarna with its own BNPL offering - AltFiThe new credit product will take Revolut one step closer to becoming a financial ‘super app’.

The product is likely to be trialed first across some European markets next year.

Klarna aims to become ´Google for shopping`

With the latest acquisition of the Swedish price comparison platform PriceRunner, Klarna, the frontrunner of ‘buy now, pay later´ services, aims to broaden the shopping experience of its customers globally. Klarna's seamless shopping experience from inspiration and product selection, to flexible payments and delivery, tracking and returns will be elevated by PriceRunner's daily price updates, reviews, professional tests and intelligent filtering options.

“Klarna will not be a marketplace but a viable and competitive alternative for retail partners vs Amazon, Google and Facebook” David Fock, Chief Product Officer at Klarna.

Sifted @Siftedeu

Klarna has today announced that it has acquired the Swedish comparison site, Pricerunner, for €930m. 💰 This is the fifth acquisition which @Klarna has made since the beginning of July — could this be a sign that flotation is getting closer? 👇 sifted.eu/articles/klarn…

sifted.euKlarna’s €930m acquisition is a step towards ‘Google for shopping’Klarna’s acquisition of Pricerunner is the Swedish fintech’s fifth this year, as it looks to bolster its offerings to shoppers.

UK `buy now pay later` provider may soon face regulation

In February, the government announced that BNPL would be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), ruling there was “a significant risk” of harm to consumers. The Treasury has now launched its consultation setting out options for how regulation should happen.

Finance News @ftfinancenews

UK launches review of ‘buy now pay later’ market

on.ft.comSubscribe to read | Financial TimesNews, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

AltFi @AltFiNews

UK Government launches ‘buy now, pay later’ regulation consultation, writes @DJLanyon

buff.lyUK Government launches ‘buy now, pay later’ regulation consultation - AltFiExpectations of a new regulatory framework for BNPL providers has ratcheted up in 2021 as the sector continues to boom.

Treasury proposals include introducing rules governing how BNPL firms treat customers in financial difficulty. Also, proportionate regulation should include the ability for consumers unhappy about the way a BNPL firm has treated them to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

It could be late 2022 or 2023 before the regulation takes effect.

Good read

UK consumer study on BNPL

A recent study conducted by the Citizens Advice bureau about BNPL usage in the UK revealed that 39% of consumers who used BNPL used it without realizing it and 40% do not think it’s proper borrowing.