M&S launches ‘buy now, pay later’ service

Service already offered by thousands of UK retailers

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Marks & Spencer is the latest retailer to adopt a “buy now, pay later” payment model, in the hope that it may attract younger customers in the run up to Christmas.

The retailer has partnered with Clearpay to launch the initiative, which allows customers to pay for purchases via a series of four instalments paid over a period of six weeks. The payments can be made via a smartphone app.

There are several catches, though. For example, the delayed payment option is available exclusively to online shoppers and can only be applied to purchases over £30. It also only applies to items in M&S’ clothing and home ranges.

The service is being rolled out on M&S.com over the next few weeks and will be fully in place by mid-November.

Kirsty Ward, director of M&S Bank and Services said: “We’re committed to providing our customers with seamless, easy and convenient ways to pay, and that’s why we’ve introduced this fully integrated and interest-free option to help spread the cost of shopping on M&S.com.

“The Clearpay solution complements our existing M&S Credit and Debit Cards offered through M&S Bank.”

“Buy now, pay layer” is becoming increasingly popular among retailers as they try to entice customers in the run up to Christmas.

It’s already offered by a number of retailers, including Asos and H&M, many of whom offer delayed payment services through a rival firm to Clearpay called Klarna.

Klarna is used by more than 4,000 UK retailers, including JD Sports and Boohoo.

Clearpay, meanwhile, launched in the summer but claims it already has more than 200,000 customers.

Carl Scheible, Clearpay UK CEO said: “We are thrilled to launch with Marks & Spencer especially as we head into the busy Christmas shopping and trading season. We’re looking forward to being part of their development as they continue their transformation for customers.”