BNPL companies to be regulated in the UK, page-17

04 Feb. 2021 07:08

BUZZ-Buy now, pay later: Citi survey finds credit checks may hurt usage

** A survey of 13,000 people across Australia, UK, the United States and Canada by Citigroup shows ~70% may reduce their use of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services if providers were to conduct credit checks

** This week the UK called for regulation of BNPLs, including user credit checks

** The survey also showed that Afterpay users were least likely to use another BNPL service

** APT most used in U.S., Australia and Canada, while its main rival Klarna led in the UK - survey

** U.S. adoption still in early stages, with only 34% having used or planning to use BNPL vs 44% in Australia - survey

** Citi survey also shows 41% in U.S. have not heard of BNPL vs 5% in Australia

** Users of Sezzle and Zip Co's Quadpay were most likely to also use another BNPL service

** Citi expects strong growth to continue for APT and ZIP in the largely underpenetrated U.S. market

** 80% of U.S. users would reduce BNPL usage if it impacted their credit scores - survey

** 70% of U.S. respondents were likely to keep using BNPL services if the provider charged a fee vs 50% of Australians

(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan)

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