Virgin Money wants a ‘Slyce’ of the buy now, pay later boom

Another day, another BNPL offering, but this time from a fully-regulated UK high street challenger bank, Virgin Money.

Later this year the bank will launch Virgin Money Slyce, a new credit card that offers fixed pay-later periods of 3, 6, 9 or 12-month instalments on payments over £30.

Only the first two repayment periods of 3 or 6 months are interest-free, with the bank charging 7.5 per cent on balances spread over 9 months and 10 per cent on those spread over 12 months.

Virgin Money compares Slyce to traditional buy now, pay later products, but says it has the additional benefits of helping customers to build their credit scores and being issued by a fully-regulated bank with “controls, protections and safeguards” as well as credit and affordability checking.

“It’s clear that consumers now expect to be able to pay via buy now pay later plans, so we’re very excited to offer an option that will bring more customers into a regulated credit environment at the same time as offering market-leading terms, flexibility and simplicity,” said Virgin Money’s chief commercial officer Hugh Chater.

“Importantly, Slyce will help our customers stay in control of their spending while also building their credit score for the future—allowing our customers to buy now, pay better on terms that work for them.”

Slyce was created by Virgin Money in partnership with Mastercard and payment provider TSYS, but also has striking similarities with Tymit, a challenger credit card that offers buy now, pay later-style repayment terms.

Virgin Money has yet to reveal when Slyce will launch, but it will certainly arrive in-market during a challenging time for the BNPL sector, which faces both a regulatory crackdown and a cost of living crisis hitting its target demographic.