PayPal Credit Goes Interest-Free In The UK

PayPal is launching PayPal Credit today in the U.K., which means, going forward, British consumers will have the option of leveraging a PayPal account to pay for goods over time instead of using a traditional credit card.

The new feature will work on any PayPal-enabled site across the pond, and if the purchase is more than £150 ($212), the customer will pay zero percent interest. That inducement is paired with other retailer-specific offers.

Notably, the U.K. free credit deal is a little less naturally enticing than the U.S. edition, which offers the zero percent interest option on any purchase above $99.

This is the first international expansion of PayPal Credit — first launched in the U.S. in 2014 as Bill Me Later. The American version is associated with the PayPal Extras MasterCard issued by Synchrony. It also came with a money transfer service. The U.K. edition has neither the card nor the money transfer service.

Though the program is going live today in the U.K., it’s been hovering in the works since 2014 in pilot form.

“Today’s announcement is another example of how PayPal is so much more than a button on a website,” said Cameron McLean, managing director of PayPal U.K. “We are using technology to reimagine money. For consumers, it’s about giving them more choice and convenience when shopping online. For businesses, we are enabling them to grow and offer their customers greater payment flexibility. It’s a sign of things to come. As a newly independent company, we will continue to partner with retailers to find new, improved ways for people to pay.”

PayPal is popular in the U.K and, as a result, has regularly been the first stop for any international expansion undertaken by the firm.