NAB’s no-fee BNPL pitch

John Kavanagh

NAB’s pitch for business in the crowded buy now pay later market is that its new product, NAB Now Pay Later, has no late fees, no interest charges, no account fees and no minimum purchase amount.

The bank announced yesterday that it is taking pre-registrations for its BNPL product, which will allow customers to split a purchase of up to A$1000 into four payments. Customers will be able to use their digital wallets for online and instore purchases.

It said the product has been “built for mobile”, with applications and credit decisions through the NAB app.

Comparison site Canstar said the product features make it “potentially a cost cost-effective option when compared to other major BNPL providers.”

Commonwealth Bank’s StepPay, Afterpay, Zip Pay, humm and Klarna all have missed payment fees - $10 in the case of CBA and Afterpay.

NAB is also betting that consumers will prefer an instalment payment service offered by their main bank. It cited a Visa survey, which found 90 per cent were more likely to use BNPL service offered by their bank.

The bank will do credit checks before opening accounts.