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Amazon teams up with Barclays on first foray into UK buy now, pay later market
Amazon has teamed up with Barclays and called its buy now, payer later venture "Instalments". Unlike other buy now, pay later providers, it will charge interest over the payment period.
Amazon has teamed up with Barclays to make its foray into the booming UK buy now, pay later sector.
Instead of calling it buy now, pay later, Amazon has called the new venture "Instalments".
In a statement from Amazon, it said the new payment method can be used on purchases of £100 or more on Amazon.co.uk.
Customers can spread the cost over several instalments between three and 48 months after purchase.
The reusable credit account can be used on millions of products, including those from thousands of small and medium businesses selling on Amazon, Amazon said.
The product is already launched in Germany after launching last year.
Buy now, pay later, which has become an increasingly popular form of alternative payment both online and on the high street.
Critics, however, say that buy now, pay later encourages users to get into debt who can't afford to.
Rob Levy, head of instalment lending, Amazon UK, commented: “Every day we strive to innovate on behalf of our UK customers. Instalments is one way we will offer customers flexible options, enabling them to choose to pay now or split the cost of larger purchases into budget-friendly monthly instalments.
“This is a simple and transparent service from Barclays that automates monthly payments, providing greater comfort for customers making bigger purchases.”
Ruchir Rodrigues, head of Barclays Cubed, said: “This is another major step in our ambition to reinvent payments at the point-of-sale and delight customers."
“Amazon offers a world-class shopping experience, and this new service gives users a fully reusable payment-by-instalments option, which they can use to spread the cost of purchases over a longer period.”
Amazon customers need to apply for the payment method and once approved will be able to reuse the credit account.
One point of difference to existing buy now, pay later providers like Klarna is that Barclays will charge interest over the instalment period, with an annual rate of 10.9 per cent.
Customers need to meet certain eligibility requirements to apply for an instalment account—for example, they need to be over 18 years of age and have been a UK resident for at least three year, Amazon said.
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