EMEA Daily: Retailers Revisit ‘Free Shipping, Free Returns’ as Costs Soar

Today in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, H&M announced that it will trial charging a fee when customers return items they’ve purchased online and Klarna has teamed with CellPay to offer buy now, pay later (BNPL) on cell phone minutes.

Capchase, Xero Streamline UK Small Businesses’ Access to Capital

Non-dilutive capital startup Capchase is now integrated with global small- to medium-sized business (SMB) accounting software platform Xero, enabling SMB customers in the United Kingdom to more easily access capital.

With this integration, U.K. SMB customers can use the Capchase app in the Xero App Store to apply for growth capital. Because financial data will be synched between Capchase and Xero, the approval process will be streamlined and businesses could receive funding as soon as 48 hours after they apply, Capchase said on Thursday (Sept. 29) in a blog post.

Because Capchase makes its lending decisions based on a company’s recurring revenue, being able to access this and other data via the new integration with Xero will enable it to make lending decisions accurately and immediately, according to the post.

Capchase has provided capital to hundreds of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies over the past few years and will now be able to offer it through Xero, which has 3 million subscribers worldwide, the post stated.

Klarna, CellPay Team to Offer BNPL on Prepaid Cellphone Minutes

FinTech solution provider CellPay has partnered with the Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Klarna to offer an interest-free “Pay in 4” option to consumers buying prepaid cellphone minutes from CellPay.

With this payment option, CellPay customers can make four interest-free payments over six weeks, according to a statement released to the press today.

Read more: 60% of Millennials are Interested in Bank-Provided BNPL Plans, If Available

Citing research from PYMNTS, the company noted in the release that about 20% of consumers use BNPL, adding that its new partnership with Klarna will enable CellPay to offer the benefits of that payment option to its customers.

Retailers Revisit ‘Free Shipping, Free Returns’ as Costs Soar

H&M, a multinational clothing company based in Sweden, may become the latest merchant to begin charging a fee when customers return items they’ve purchased online.

The fashion retailer is going to test this initiative, H&M CEO Helena Helmersson said Thursday (Sept. 29) during a conference call.

“We are about to test return fees in a few of the markets to see the response from the customers,” Helmersson said during the call held in conjunction with the release of the company’s nine-month earnings report covering the period ended Aug. 31.

The company will soon test the fees in Norway and the United Kingdom in order to mitigate the rising costs of materials and freight.

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