Martin Lewis issues update to Klarna customers and says 'it's useful'

People who use Klarna for buy now, pay later purposes have been handed the handy information by the BBC and ITV star, who is a Money Saving Expert founder.

Martin Lewis has issued a "useful" update for Klarna customers. People who use Klarna for buy now, pay later purposes have been handed the handy information by the BBC and ITV star, who is a Money Saving Expert founder.

Mr Lewis said: "Payday lenders selling disguised debt to people as they're about to pay for instinct buys or takeaways is something I've long criticised and called for regulation of (hopefully coming in the budget) Yet fair's fair @klarna has today announced it'll start allowing people to interest free spread payments for plumbers and car repairs.

"I think that's actually useful for some (if done carefully) as these are often unexpected necessities. A far more appropriate purpose (still needs regulation tho)." It comes as Klarna is working with global small business platform Xero, to help small businesses accept payments from consumers wanting a ‘buy now, pay later’ option.

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A fan replied: "While Klarna’s move to offer interest-free payments for essential services like car repairs and plumbing is a positive step, it's crucial to remember the dangers of payday lenders. These companies often trap people in cycles of high-interest debt, preying on those already in financial stress. Offering quick credit at the point of instinctive buys or takeaways can lead to impulsive decisions with long-term consequences. Klarna’s new offering seems much more responsible, but as you said, regulation is essential to prevent these schemes from becoming just another payday loan trap. We need to focus on empowering consumers, not exploiting them."

Klarna checks a consumer’s eligibility before approving each purchase and provides a clear installment plan with friendly reminders to help shoppers keep on top of their payments. These guardrails mean 99% of lending is repaid and 40% of orders are repaid early.

David Sykes, Chief Commercial Officer, at Klarna says: “Klarna’s flexible payment options are typically associated with clothes and shoes but that has been changing for a long time. This partnership brings Klarna’s flexible payment options to micro businesses of all kinds so business owners can get paid on time and their customers can choose how and when to pay.

"This includes businesses where gardeners and landscaping services using Xero can now offer a Klarna BNPL payment option, plumbers and heating engineers using Xero can fix their customers’ boilers and let them spread the cost while small businesses involved in the construction industry could spread the cost of smaller projects over three interest-free installments.”