Charlotte Tilbury signs up to Klarna's instalment payments service

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 20, 2020

Fast-growing payments specialist Klarna has added another major name to the list of brands using its services with upscale make-up and skincare label Charlotte Tilbury now on board.

The firm has seen rapid growth for its interest-free instalment payment options in the UK of late and while many of the brands and retailers it deals with operate in the mass-market, the growing number of premium and prestige names on its list highlight just how popular the buy now, pay later option is becoming.

Shoppers using Klarna can make the first payment (a third of the price) at the point of purchase via either a debit or credit card, with the final two payments automatically scheduled to be taken 30 and 60 days after purchase.

There are a number of companies operating in the instalment payments space but Klarna is one of the best known. Since the start of this year, the Swedish company has got backing from China's Ant Financial Services Group and this has helped it widen its reach, even in the face of the pandemic.

It has launched in Australia and partnered with both Vend and Wirecard, significantly extending its offer.

In total, it has deals with more than 5,000 merchants, and in the UK they include Asos, River Island, JD Sports, Boohoo, Missguided and Topshop. Back in February, it also announced that it had doubled its user numbers to more than 7m. It also said that in the previous 12 months, a new Klarna order was made every 1.3 seconds and over 1.6m UK customers had downloaded its app. It was adding new UK customers at a rate of around 88,000 a week in H2 2019.

This reflected its global growth that drove 2019 revenues 31% higher and made it Europe’s most valuable private fintech company with a valuation of $5.5bn.