Klarna Partners With Money Adviser Network to Offer Debt Advice

Klarna has joined forces with the Money Adviser Network (MAN) to enable its customers in the United Kingdom to get fast, free debt advice.

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) service will alert its customers the debt advice services available from members of MAN, which is provided by the United Kingdom government body MoneyHelper, Klarna said in a Wednesday (July 19) press release.

“We are proud to be the first BNPL service to join forces with MAN and give customers a simplified route to debt advice, and are calling on other BNPL providers to join us in providing the same access to advice and support, to ensure that customers’ interests are always put first,” Flora Coleman, director of global policy and government relations at Klarna, said in the release.

Through the partnership, Klarna customers will benefit from access to advisers from StepChange, Citizens Advice or the National Debtline.

The partnership between Klarna and MAN will help customers get the advice they need, quickly and easily, and promote mindfulness when it comes to spending, the release said.

“This comes as Klarna, along with the rest of the financial services industry, prepares for the FCA’s [Financial Conduct Authority’s] implementation of its Consumer Duty, which will set higher and clearer standard of consumer protection across firms and requires them to put their customers’ needs first,” Klarna said in the release.

The FCA’s Consumer Duty rules, which will take effect July 31, are a cornerstone of the regulator’s strategy to set higher consumer protection standards for financial institutions.

The regulator sent a letter to payments firms in March cautioning them that it expects their controls to be “sufficiently robust” and that they should ensure that their customers’ money is safe, that their firm does not compromise the integrity of the financial system and that they meet their customers’ needs.

In another effort to encourage its customers to cultivate “smart spending habits,” Klarna added a financial planning tool to its app in the U.K., U.S., Germany and Sweden in January.

This “Money Story” feature includes an animated format similar to that seen on social media and provides insights into spending habits.