What payment options does Klarna offer?

Klarna is a buy now, pay later provider used by over 120 million customers across 26 countries¹. At the checkout you can pay the whole amount straight away, pay 30 days later, or split the cost into three interest-free instalments. Larger purchases can be spread over 6 to 24 monthly payments through Klarna Financing, and recurring subscriptions can be bundled into a single monthly payment².

The options differ in when money leaves your account, what it costs, and how much protection you have if something goes wrong. Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 days are interest-free if you pay on time, but a payment more than seven days late attracts a £5 late payment fee, capped at two late payment fees per order⁵. Klarna Financing is regulated credit and no longer charges late fees for missed repayments⁶.

Klarna offers both regulated lending products and unregulated buy now, pay later products⁷. It runs a soft credit check when you use Pay in 3, 6 or 12 interest-free instalments or apply for a Klarna Credit Card, and no credit check when you sign up or download the app⁸. Klarna started reporting buy now, pay later borrowing to credit reference agencies in June 2022⁹.

Klarna at a glance: a buy now, pay later provider with 120m customers

Buy now, pay later is an online payment option that lets you buy an item straight away and delay paying until a later date¹¹. The provider instantly pays the borrowed amount to the retailer, and you pay back the money borrowed plus any interest and charges in one instalment or regular repayments over weeks or months¹². Klarna is one of the main names in this market in the UK, alongside Clearpay, PayPal and Amazon¹³.

Klarna's own range is wider than buy now, pay later alone. In the UK it also provides regulated credit through Klarna Financing and the Klarna Credit Card⁶. That split matters to a consumer: the buy now, pay later options sit outside the rules that cover ordinary credit, while the Financing and Credit Card products are regulated lending. Klarna and PayPal both offer regulated lending products and unregulated buy now, pay later products⁷.

Klarna is one of the UK's main three buy now, pay later firms, alongside PayPal and Clearpay¹⁵. It was authorised to act as an electronic money institution in July 2025⁶. New rules for buy now, pay later schemes are planned to protect shoppers from 2026¹⁶.

The provider has changed how it presents its options over time. It introduced new wording for retailers to use at the checkout, which it says will make it absolutely clear that buy now, pay later options are credit products with consequences for missed payments⁶. It also updated its terms and conditions with the help of consumer group Fairer Finance to ensure they are clear, simple and easy to understand⁶.

Pay in 3: interest-free instalments

Pay in 3 lets you buy now and pay later by splitting your purchase into three interest-free payments². Klarna states there are no fees when you pay on time². The three instalments are taken from the card you used at the checkout, normally every 30 days.

This is the option most people meet first, because it appears at the checkout of a large number of retailers. Buy now, pay later schemes such as Klarna, Laybuy and Clearpay offer interest-free credit at the checkout, allowing you to spread the cost of a purchase over a series of repayments¹⁷. The attraction is that a purchase costing, say, £90 becomes three payments of £30 with nothing added, provided each one is made on time.

The conditions are where the option needs care. Missed payments can affect your ability to use Klarna⁶. A payment more than seven days late attracts a £5 late payment fee, capped at two late payment fees per order⁵. On a small purchase, two late fees can add a meaningful amount to what you pay, and the fees are charged per order rather than per account.

Klarna runs a soft credit check when you use Pay in 3, 6 or 12 interest-free instalments⁸. A soft check is visible to you on your credit file but is not seen by other lenders in the way a full application search is. Klarna started reporting buy now, pay later borrowing to credit reference agencies in June 2022, in a bid to improve the visibility of shoppers' borrowing⁹. That means the borrowing can appear on your credit file even though the check itself was soft.

Pay in 30 days: debit card, credit card or direct debit

Pay in 30 days allows you to buy now and pay later with no down payment³. Klarna currently accepts debit cards, credit cards and BACS, which is a direct debit style bank payment, as forms of payment when checking out with Pay in 30 days³. Klarna's Pay later option asks that you make the full payment 14 or 30 days after shopping, depending on the retailer¹⁸.

The choice of how to pay matters more than it first appears. Paying by debit card or BACS takes the money from your own funds. Paying by credit card moves the debt onto a credit card, which has its own interest and repayment terms, and can affect your Section 75 rights. Using your credit card with third-party payment systems can mean you lose important Section 75 protection on items costing more than £100, and those systems include PayPal, Google Wallet, buy now, pay later schemes such as Klarna and Clearpay, and third-party sellers on Amazon¹⁹.

Section 75 makes a credit card provider jointly liable with the retailer when you buy something costing more than £100 and up to £30,000. Routing the payment through Klarna can break the chain between you, the creditor and the retailer, which is what puts the protection at risk¹⁹. If a purchase is expensive and the retailer is one you are unsure about, that is worth knowing before you choose how to pay.

Klarna and Clearpay are two of the main short-term buy now, pay later providers offering payment after 30 days or over three or four months²⁰. Klarna's Pay in 30 days option sits in that short-term group rather than the longer financing products.

Pay in full: card or bank account

Klarna's Pay in full option lets you pay the entire purchase amount immediately at checkout using your debit or credit card⁴. Klarna accepts most credit and debit cards, and will inform you at checkout if your card has not been accepted⁴. To use it you need a valid debit or credit card⁴.

Paying in full is the option with no borrowing attached, so there is nothing to repay later and no late payment fee to trigger. It exists mainly so that shoppers who want to use Klarna for its app, rewards or card can still check out through Klarna without taking on a payment plan. Klarna describes the choice as paying the full amount, in 30 days or with financing¹.

Klarna also offers a Klarna Card, which is a separate product from the checkout options. The card offers debit and credit options, plus cashback for members⁶. You will not automatically receive a physical card: instead you get a virtual card that you can add to your mobile wallet⁶. The card is accepted anywhere Visa is accepted, online and in store²¹. Klarna states there are no foreign exchange fees when spending abroad or in other currencies⁶.

Klarna runs a membership scheme alongside the card. The tiers offer different rewards: 0.5% cashback when you pay in full with Klarna balance on the Plus tier, 0.5% cashback everywhere when using the Klarna balance account on the Premium tier, and 1% cashback everywhere when using the Klarna balance account on the Max tier⁶. Klarna balance is a digital wallet that lets customers store e-money, add or withdraw funds, and earn cashback on certain Klarna purchases⁶. The Max tier also includes comprehensive travel, rental-car, and cancel-for-any-reason insurance⁶.

Paying over time and scheduled payments for subscriptions

Two Klarna options stretch beyond the short-term plans. Klarna Financing spreads the cost over smaller monthly payments, with 6 to 24 month options available⁴. This is the regulated lending side of Klarna's business, and it no longer charges late fees for missed repayments⁶. It is typically offered by retailers for higher-value purchases.

Schedule payments works differently. It lets you bundle your recurring and on-demand payments, such as streaming, food delivery or rides, into one interest-free monthly payment²³. You can use it with participating on-demand and subscription services where Klarna is offered at checkout, and Klarna names Disney+, Uber, Uber Eats and Zo as examples²³. You select Klarna when paying for your subscription or on-demand service when available, then choose Schedule payments²³. The payment is monthly, on a day you choose²³.

Subscriptions, also known as recurring payments, are card payments scheduled for a later date and taken on a regular basis²⁴. Bundling several of them into one Klarna payment changes the date and the number of transactions, but it does not change what you owe the services themselves. Klarna's Premium membership includes 14 subscriptions⁸.

The late fee rules differ across these products, and the difference is worth checking before you commit:

If you default on a Klarna agreement, it can charge the outstanding balance on any card it has for you¹⁸. Missing payments on buy now, pay later options like Klarna and credit cards can add fees, so you may end up paying more than you would have if you bought something outright²⁵.

Paying for gift cards through Klarna's Gift Card Store

Klarna's Gift Card Store offers several payment options, including Pay in 3 interest-free payments, Pay in full, Pay in 30 days, or over time²⁶. That means the same range of choices that applies at a retailer's checkout also applies when you buy a gift card through Klarna itself.

Gift cards can be sent instantly via email or text, with a personalised note and a scheduled delivery date option²⁶. The scheduled delivery is useful if you are buying ahead of a birthday or Christmas, because the card arrives on the day rather than when you buy it.

Buying a gift card on credit deserves a moment's thought. The card is a promise to spend with a particular retailer, and if that retailer fails, the value can be lost. Paying for it in instalments means you may still be repaying Klarna for a card that can no longer be used. The same late payment rules apply: a £5 fee for payments more than seven days late, capped at two per order⁵.

Where Klarna sits in the wider market

Klarna is one of several buy now, pay later providers operating in the UK. Buy now, pay later is offered through many providers including Klarna, Clearpay, PayPal and Amazon¹³. Examples of buy now, pay later providers are Klarna, Clearpay and Laybuy, although there are many providers available¹⁴. These providers are run by companies separate from the store²⁷.

The regulatory picture is changing. Klarna and PayPal offer both regulated lending products and unregulated buy now, pay later products⁷. New rules for buy now, pay later schemes are planned to protect shoppers from 2026¹⁶. Klarna was authorised to act as an electronic money institution in July 2025⁶.

For anyone weighing up Klarna against other ways to borrow, the comparison pages on this site set out how the options differ: buy now pay later or a credit card, Klarna vs Clearpay, Klarna vs PayPal Pay in 3 and Klarna vs Monzo Flex. The general guide to buy now pay later explains how the products work, their late fees and your rights, and there is a separate page on buy now pay later providers.

What protects you, and where it stops

The protection around Klarna depends on which product you use. Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 days are buy now, pay later, which sits outside the rules that cover ordinary credit. Klarna Financing and the Klarna Credit Card are regulated credit⁶. New rules for buy now, pay later schemes are planned to protect shoppers from 2026¹⁶.

Section 75 is the main protection to watch. It makes a credit card provider jointly liable with the retailer when you buy something costing more than £100 and up to £30,000, but using your credit card with third-party payment systems can mean you lose that protection, and buy now, pay later schemes such as Klarna are named among those systems¹⁹. If you pay Klarna with a credit card, the chain between you, the creditor and the retailer can be broken.

Klarna runs a soft credit check when you use Pay in 3, 6 or 12 interest-free instalments or apply for a Klarna Credit Card, and no credit check when you sign up or download the app⁸. Klarna started reporting buy now, pay later borrowing to credit reference agencies in June 2022⁹. Most of the big providers, such as Klarna, PayPal and Zilch, only run soft credit checks¹⁶.

If you are struggling with buy now, pay later repayments, these bills from companies such as Klarna are important not to ignore²⁸. Free, impartial help is available from debt advice charities, and the debt section of this site sets out the options. There is also guidance on what to do if you can't repay a loan and on how to complain about Klarna.