Clearpay (the British sister of popular Australian payment service Afterpay) allows you to split your online shopping totals into 4 instalments. You can check out our full list of retailers offering Clearpay here.
Founded in 2014, Clearpay is the little sister of the Australian buy now, pay later platform Afterpay. Afterpay is now used by merchants across Australia, the US, Canada, New Zealand, the EU and the UK (where it is called Clearpay).
In August 2021, payment giant Square acquired Afterpay after it announced that it entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed.
Clearpay partners with a range of popular retailers, allowing shoppers to buy goods online or in-store there and then, but pay for them later. Customers simply shop at their chosen online store as usual and at the checkout select Clearpay as their payment method. At this point, you’ll need to sign in or create your Clearpay account, providing your bank or card details.
The payment for your new goods will be split into 4 equal amounts over 6 weeks. The first instalment will be due immediately and the other 3 will be automatically taken from your account at 2-week intervals.
Clearpay doesn’t charge any interest or fees to use its services. The only situation in which you’ll pay more is if you don’t have enough money in your account to make the automatic payments. In this case, you’ll be charged a late fee and will need to log in to your Clearpay account to clear the balance.
Clearpay is part of the Afterpay Touch Group, which is Level 1 certified by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The company says your card details and personal information are always safe when you shop with Clearpay.
You must be at least 18 years old and shop with a retailer that offers Clearpay to sign up for an account.
As soon as you miss a payment, Clearpay will immediately stop you from making any further purchases using the service. You’ll be charged a late payment fee of £6 and if the payment hasn’t been made within 7 days, another £6 fee will be added. Late fees are capped so they will never be more than £24 or 25% of the order value, whichever is less.
Finder’s BNPL expert Amelia Glean answers
Unlike Klarna and a number of other BNPL providers, Clearpay only offers 1 type of payment plan. Arguably, this makes things simpler for the user as everyone plays by the same rules. But there’s no getting away from the fact that you can’t use Clearpay in the same way as Klarna and “try before you buy”. This is because Clearpay’s payment option involves splitting the cost of your goods into 4 chunks, with 1 instalment taken at the time of purchase. While you will get your money back if you return the item, the money is still leaving your account before you’re sure if you want to keep your new item.
What we like about Clearpay is the payments are automatic, meaning shoppers don’t need to keep an eye on due dates and risk missing the deadlines. However, all of this means that you do need to ensure there are sufficient funds in your linked account to cover the costs. Clearpay charges a late fee of £6 in the first instance, and if it’s still not paid after 7 days, a further £6 fee will be charged. If you choose to pay by Clearpay, this is something you should be aware of.
If you use Clearpay regularly, chances are you’ll benefit from downloading the Clearpay app, available on both iOS and Android devices. It allows you to manage your payments efficiently and view your payment schedule, as well as browse through the range of online retailers that offer Clearpay at checkout. You can also make early payments should you wish to clear your repayment plan sooner – a handy feature for those who have the money ready and waiting.
We know that Clearpay is one of the most popular BNPL platforms in the UK. Finder’s report on BNPL “Instant hit: The rise and rise of buy now, pay later” showed that Clearpay saw 298,000 downloads of its app between January and July 2020. Only Klarna (986,000 downloads) and My Argos Card (435,000) racked up more in the same time period.
Clearpay doesn’t currently report your payment history to the 3 main credit reference agencies (CRAs). However, while that means missed payments won’t currently affect your credit score, this could change in the future. Some BNPL providers already report to CRAs. Missing payments will also incur late payment fees and could ultimately result in more serious debt problems, so always be careful when using BNPL services.”
Clearpay has collected a wide range of reviews online. On Trustpilot, the buy now, pay later provider scores 4.8 out of 5 stars and has a score of “Excellent”, based on over 36,000 reviews (updated May 2024).
The Clearpay app performs even better, with a score of 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store – that’s based on over 70,000 reviews (updated May 2024).
On the off chance that you encounter a problem with Clearpay, we suggest taking a look at the list of FAQs on the site. Can’t find your question on there? Send a message online and wait for a member of the customer services team to get back to you.
Clearpay is one of the most popular BNPL platforms in the UK, and for a good reason. It’s super easy to use, set up and manage, and the app offers some good features.
There are 2 main drawbacks. Firstly, there are fewer payment plans to choose from compared with Klarna’s 3 options. While this can certainly make things simpler for users, it doesn’t allow shoppers to “try before they buy”, at least without paying the first of the 4 instalments. Secondly, it charges late payment fees.
All in all, Clearpay is good if you’re looking for a simple way to buy now, pay later in the UK and can afford all the instalments easily.
Clearpay can be contacted via its online Help Centre, or through phone at 0808 164 9707, Monday to Friday, 8am-6pm.
Clearpay accepts UK Amex, Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards.
Contact the retailer you purchased your item from and follow its returns process. All returns are subject to the retailer’s returns policy. To make sure no further automatic payments are taken from your account while your return is being processed, you can contact Clearpay and it will pause your payments for 2 weeks until the refund is processed. This means no late payment fees will be taken from your account. If you have a specific concern or dispute, contact Clearpay’s customer service.
Log in to your online Clearpay account to view your repayment schedule.
The first of your 4 payments is due immediately when you purchase your items. The other 3 payments will automatically be taken from your account at 2-week intervals after that.
Afterpay and Clearpay are run by the same company, with Afterpay being the name of the BNPL service offered in Australia, the USA, Canada and New Zealand, and Clearpay being the name of the same service offered in the UK.
No, Clearpay does not run a credit check on you when you make an account. Instead, to ensure customers are likely to be able to make repayments, Clearpay may conduct a pre-authorisation on your nominated card, up to the amount of your first instalment.
Unlike some BNPL services Clearpay doesn’t currently report data to credit reference agencies (CRAs). This means that at the moment, your credit score won’t be affected if you make a late payment. But that also means your credit score won’t go up if you build a good payment history.
Clearpay is offered at more than 3,500 stores and sites in the UK, including big brands names like boohoo, Glossybox and more.
Yes, Clearpay has all the standard security measures used by online payment services and is level 1 certified by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
Clearpay uses several factors to decide whether to accept customers orders. To improve your chances of being accepted, we suggest starting with 1 order of a low value and ensuring you have enough money in your account to make all payments on time.
Yes, Clearpay does not approve 100% of orders. Clearpay uses a number of factors to decide whether to accept customers. These factors include the value of the order, the length of time you’ve been using Clearpay, the funds available on your payment method and the number of open orders you have with Clearpay.
Yes, Clearpay is the sister of Australian BNPL brand Afterpay, which has been in business since 2015. Clearpay is 1 of the UK’s most popular BNPL services.
Yes, Clearpay is part of the Afterpay Touch Group, which is level 1 certified by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This is the highest level of security in the payment industry.
Yes, to keep things simple Clearpay offers only 1 payment plan which splits your online shopping order total into 4 payments.
Clearpay accepts credit and debit cards from Amex, Mastercard and Visa as long as they’ve been issued in your country of residence.
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I’ve ordered twice of Clearpay. First order was for 50 something then paid that up in just 1 week. Second was for 54.99. Paid that up within a week. I’m trying to order again and it keeps declining me, have you got any idea why?
Hi Tina,
Thank you for getting in touch with Finder.
I’m afraid that we do not have the info on declined Clearpay application, however please note that Clearpay does not approve 100% of orders. They are committed to ensuring they support responsible spending. When determining which orders to approve, they considers a number of different factors. As an example, the longer you have been a shopper with Clearpay and the more orders you have successfully repaid, the more likely you will be able to spend more.
I hope this helps.
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Jeni
Hi there,
My friend recommended me to clear pay. She said I can pay on the 4th week instead of just 3 separate instalments, is this true?
Regards,
Darcy
Hi Darcy,
Thanks for contacting Finder.
Clearpay allows you to pay for your purchase over 4 installments due every 2 weeks, in accordance with the relevant Payment Schedule. They will automatically take the second, third and fourth payments from your bank account at two-week intervals. There is nothing mentioned on their T&C that you can skip the 1st to the 3rd payment. If you won’t be able to pay Clearpay on time, you should contact them as soon as possible. Please checkout their T&C to know more about this.
I hope that helps.
Kind Regards,
Faye