PayPal adds 30-day buy now, pay later option for UK shoppers
The payments group says eligible UK customers can defer online purchases of £1 to £900 for up to 30 days without interest or fees.
By Rafael Ortiz · Fintech Correspondent
· 3 min read
PayPal has launched a 30-day deferred payment product for UK shoppers, extending its buy now, pay later offering as demand for flexible checkout options grows. The company said eligible customers can use Pay in 30 Days for online purchases between £1 and £900, with the full balance due within 30 days and no interest, sign-up fee or additional charge.
The product is available to eligible users within PayPal’s UK customer base, which the company said is close to 30 million. It adds a short-term deferral option alongside PayPal’s existing Pay in 3 credit product, under which customers split a purchase into three instalments: one at checkout and two more over the following two months.
Pay in 30 Days works inside the existing PayPal checkout process. For a qualifying transaction, a customer selects the product at checkout, completes the purchase and then pays the full amount at any point within the 30-day period. PayPal said the arrangement is designed to let customers time repayment around salary dates or other household payments.
The company said users manage the product through PayPal, without a separate app or a new account. Customers enrolled in PayPal+ can also earn PayPal+ Points when using Pay in 30 Days, according to the company.
Checkout flexibility for merchants
For merchants, PayPal said the product is added through the existing PayPal checkout experience and does not require a new integration. That means participating businesses can present another deferred-payment choice to customers without changing their checkout infrastructure, according to the company.
PayPal cited its own research among 1,000 UK business owners and senior representatives that already offer BNPL. Among those surveyed, 64% said customer trust in the BNPL provider was the most important factor, while 50% said offering a broad set of payment options at checkout directly supports conversion.
The launch comes as BNPL products attract closer regulatory attention in the UK. PayPal’s UK general manager, Tamer El-Emary, said the company expects trust and transparency to become more important as the Financial Conduct Authority brings the sector into regulation and as BNPL use continues to expand.
El-Emary said PayPal’s expanded BNPL range, including Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 Days, is intended to offer flexibility without fees while using a brand already familiar to UK online shoppers. He also said businesses are likely to see customers favour payment options from providers they recognise as regulation develops.
BNPL products can influence the economics of checkout by changing when a consumer pays, while merchants still seek to complete the sale at the point of purchase. PayPal’s announcement positions Pay in 30 Days as a shorter-term alternative to instalment credit, with the customer repaying the entire balance in one payment rather than spreading it across multiple instalments.
This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.