City Of London
Klarna Hits Back at Barclays Over ‘Irresponsible’ Buy-Now-Pay-Later Research
- Fintech decries British bank’s research as self-interested
- Barclays warns BNPL products may cause financial harm
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The head of Klarna’s UK business has criticized what he called “mind-boggling” and “irresponsible” research by Barclays Plc that called for stronger regulation of the buy-now-pay-later sector, the latest sign of the growing willingness of lenders to insert themselves into a market dominated by new entrants.
The bank published a press release Thursday with debt charity StepChange warning that 876,000 could fall into financial difficulties as a result of using BNPL products. It said retailers need to do more to examine these offerings and ensure customers understood the risks of unregulated lending.