NatWest to axe payment method available to millions of customers from tomorrow

NatWest is set to axe its buy now, pay later (BNPL) option from tomorrow.

Buy now, pay later is a type of credit that lets customers pay for a purchase in instalments, in order to spread out the cost. The offering from NatWest sees customers repay the full cost of a product over four months, at 0% interest. Customers manage their BNPL plans in the NatWest app. But the bank has now confirmed it will stop offering this service from May 7, with The Sun reporting that the decision is due to low numbers of people using it.

NatWest has around 18 million customers. A spokesperson for NatWest told the newspaper: "We are focusing on our core lending products, helping customers spread the cost of their purchases through our credit cards, overdrafts and loans. This means our Buy Now, Pay Later proposition will be closing."

It is understood that anyone with an existing buy now, pay later plan with NatWest will see their account closed once they have finished their repayments. Anyone who is affected by the update should have been contacted by the bank to explain the next steps.

This isn't the only huge change NatWest is introducing. The high street bank is now giving customers 90 days’ notice before they shut their account, in line with new legislation. At the moment, under the Payment Service Regulations 2017, banks must provide a minimum notice period of 60 days.

It comes after Brexiteer and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he was "de-banked" after his account was closed by Coutts, the private banking arm of NatWest. He said this was because the bank did not agree with his political views. NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose later resigned hours after speaking about Mr Farage's account to a BBC journalist.