Zopa joins ‘buy now pay later’ revolution

DIGITAL bank Zopa has become the latest to offer customers ‘buy now, pay later’ options.

It came a day after Apple announced a BNPL service, Apple Pay Later, that will allow US users to spread the cost of a purchase into four payments over six weeks without fees or interest.

Zopa will offer customers BNPL on purchases between £250 and £30,000. It stressed it would run credit checks and affordability tests and offer consumer protection and safeguards.

Zopa’s announcement will pile pressure on players such as Klarna and Affirm which dominate the market but have seen growth slow.

The UK BNPL market is estimated to be worth £6bn, although it is unregulated. There are concerns growing numbers of low-income households rely on the service to afford essentials.

The industry has also been accused of encouraging vulnerable consumers to buy things with money they don’t, pushing them into debt.