Voice of London

“Buy now pay later” is phrase that has sent young people into a fast fashion frenzy. 

Millennials no longer pay for clothes with money – they “Klarna” it. Since announcing its 20-million-dollar partnership with H&M in 2017, Klarna has partnered with Love Island stars, athletes and influencers, taking online shopping by storm over the past year.

As JD states, the Swedish app is for people who “wanna cop some new gear but can’t wait until pay day”. The app allows users to ‘try before they buy’ allowing shoppers 14-30 days to pay for their online order.

This means if users wish to buy a large amount of clothes, they can try them on, send back what they don’t like and pay for what they keep. Removing one of the biggest obstacles that comes with online shopping- waiting for returns to be credited. 

Students have been under the impression that they can sit back and relax and will be notified when the payment is due.

Lydia Alton, 22, self-taught baker admits she doesn’t let herself use the app anymore because she is continuously late with payments, “They make it out to be super chill, ‘don’t worry, just pay later’”.

The app promotes itself for its no interest fees or late charges. Approval for the app depends on a ‘soft’ credit check. According to Klarna, it is open about the fact that non-payment will affect a customer’s credit score. But what about late payment? Out of the 21 people I asked who use the app, over half were oblivious that paying late will have an impact on their credit score.

Naomi Owens, 21, student said “I have been late with a payment before, I forgot about it and didn’t know it could affect my credit score until I did a credit check and saw it was really low, I haven’t used the app since”.

 Eleanor Thomas, 22, student said: “They didn’t send me any reminders- they should make it more clear.”

Anna, 21, graduate, shared: “I wasn’t aware it could affect my credit score and I have been late with payments in the past, I’m worried now.” 

Words: Tia Jones

Photo: Canva