Dutch gov't against buy now - pay later option in stores, but can't ban it
The Dutch government is against buy now, pay later services in physical stores, worried about young people ending up in debt. But the government can’t ban these services, Minister Eelco Heinen of Finance and State Secretary Teun Struycken for Legal Protection informed parliament. They have “urgently” called on retail chains and payment services to stop offering this credit option, NOS reports.
Parliament asked the government in October to stop retailers and payment services offering pay-later options in-store. But according to the Ministers, a ban is impossible because of pending European legislation that will make these types of payment services subject to rules from 2026. It is impossible to ban the services or impose stricter rules on them in the meantime, the Cabinet members said.
The government has entered into discussions with Klarna, one of the largest providers of pay-later, to express their concerns. According to Heinen and Struycken, Klarna said it has added an additional information screen for new customers who use the pay later option in-store and will investigate whether it can add a credit opt-out function to the app. That would allow customers to disable the pay-later option.
CDA parliamentarian Inge van Dijk, who initiated parliament’s call for the ban, is disappointed by the government’s response. “The temptation and ease of spending money that you sometimes do not have is at the expense of people themselves and of society,” she told the broadcaster.
NOS approached Klarna for a response and the payment service said that pay-later was “a healthier alternative to expensive credit cards.” According to Klarna, the risks of other credit options must be considered in every discussion about pay-later.
