Battle of the BNPLs: Santander aims to be “leader” in the European pay later market with Zinia

Santander’s pay later challenger Zinia has already scooped up 2m users in Germany.

With the buy now, pay later market becoming ever-more competitive, today Santander outlined its ambition to become a “leader” in the European buy now, pay later market.

Santander launched its own pay later brand Zinia in Germany last year, where it has already gained 2m users, which the bank says already makes it one of the leading providers.

Now the bank has announced it’s rolling out Zinia in the Netherlands, with plans to expand the service across Europe.

Zinia sits under Santander’s digital ‘flanker’ bank brand Openbank, which itself operates in five countries with around 1.7m customers.

"Today we are launching a new platform that offers consumers a convenient and flexible payment option with the security and trust provided by a large financial group like Santander,” said Ezequiel Szafir, Santander’s CEO of Openbank and Santander Consumer Finance.

“We are delighted with Zinia's early expansion and aim to become a leader in the buy now, pay later market".

Like its pay later rivals Klarna and ClearPay, Zinia gives shoppers the ability to pay in interest-free instalments either online or on the high street. 

However, unlike its rivals, Zinia operates via a smartphone app rather than being embedded in the checkout experience.

Zinia also says it uses AI-based credit assessment that meets the lending standards of a regulated bank.