PollenPay isn’t available right now, but you can check out out other buy now, pay later options here.
Will buy now, pay later (BNPL) services eventually become a better alternative to a credit card? We’re certainly seeing new providers popping up all over the shop. We’ve reviewed new BNPL provider PollenPay. With its interest-free instalment plans and swanky new app offering a “seamless shopping experience”, has it got what it takes to take customers from giants like Klarna and Clearpay?
When you sign up, you give PollenPay a direct debit authority to take repayments from your nominated credit card, debit card or bank account. PollenPay says it doesn’t carry out credit checks, and there’s a spending limit of £250 (although PollenPay says spending limits are determined by how well customers repay, so the limit may be raised over time).
The repayments are split into 4 equal instalments with the first payment taken on the day of your purchase. You then have 6 weeks to repay the rest – the other 3 payments follow every 2 weeks. For example, if you buy an item for £100 on a Friday, PollenPay will take £25 immediately and then a fortnight later it will take another £25 and then the same again over 2 more fortnights.
PollenPay says the service is free as long as you repay your debts on time; if you don’t, there is a £5 late fee (capped at £10 per order) but PollenPay says it is not charging this yet, to allow customers to get used to the app.
PollenPay charges its partner retailers a fee, which is how it says it makes money.
PollenPay says it is free to customers who repay their debts on time. Its small print mentions “default fees” but we could not find any explanation on the site about these fees so we contacted PollenPay.
It replied:”There is usually a £5 late fee for customers if they do not pay an instalment on time. We’ve capped it at £10 per order so customers will never owe more than £10 in late fees per order.” But it added that it had not started charging late fees as the app had only just launched and it would update the website with more information once it starts charging this.
Download the PollenPay app to start using the service. As at April 2022, the app is currently available on IOS and the company says it will be available on Android soon.
PollenPay’s list of stores wasn’t on its site when we checked. You can see a full retailer list on the PollenPay app.
Only use a buy now, pay later platform if you know you’ll be able to make the repayments. PollenPay will send you an alert if a payment has failed. In the first instance, get in touch with PollenPay at contact@pollenpay.com.
PollenPay’s terms say that if you don’t make an instalment payment on its due date, you have 24 hours to pay. If you fail to pay within a week of the due date, PollenPay will temporarily suspend your ability to use the service to buy more items.
The company will charge a “default fee” if you don’t pay on time, which is £5 and it’s capped at £10 per order – but PollenPay told us it hadn’t started charging these yet.
PollenPay says that customers can make a minimum £5 repayment and allow the rest of that instalment to roll over to the next payment date, meaning they would “not owe any late fees in that instance”.
If you are struggling to make repayments, contact the government’s free money advice website, MoneyHelper. Late repayments can cause you serious money problems.
PollenPay has the potential to make some big waves in the BNPL market if it plays its cards right against the larger names. However, as the provider is so new, there is very little evidence of its impact so far. If you’re the type of person who loves to give something new a try, the simple and straightforward app could be the BNPL option for you. As long as you stick within the £250 spending limit and repay your purchases in full on time.
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