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Kmart to offer in-store Afterpay option as Christmas shopping ramps up

Kmart will offer shoppers the option of using buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service Afterpay in store as easing COVID-19 restrictions coincide with the traditional retail boom of Christmas shopping.

From today, 322 Kmart and K hub stores around the country will offer Afterpay at checkout, allowing customers to purchase the items immediately and then pay them off in four, interest-free fortnightly instalments.

Previously Afterpay has only been offered to shoppers using Kmart’s online site.

“Christmas shopping can be incredibly stressful and following on from another troublesome year, the Kmart and Afterpay offering in-store will provide budgeting relief to many families and individuals,” Kmart said in a statement.

“As one of the most requested partnerships by Afterpay customers, this announcement will come to great delight for the die-hard Afterpay X Kmart enthusiasts who have been campaigning for this for some time.”

Kmart’s General Manager of Stores Chris Renshaw said he expects the timing of the partnership to be well received by die-hard fans of the two businesses.

“Introducing Afterpay across our network of stores including our K hub stores, just in time for Christmas is incredibly exciting – customers can now have even more access to our products with the added benefit of managing their budgets for Christmas time and well into the future,” Mr Renshaw said.

“We look forward to expanding this offering into New Zealand early next year.”

Afterpay is currently the largest BNPL provider in Australia, boasting more than 16 million active customers and partnerships with more than 100,000 merchants.

When customers use Afterpay, the price of their purchase is split into four instalments due every two weeks. There is no interest charged on repayments, and no fees if the repayments are paid on time.

Unless otherwise advised, customers are required to make their first payment of 25 per cent upfront at the checkout.

For orders below $40, a maximum of one $10 late fee may be applied per order. For each order of $40 or above, the total of the late fees that may be applied are capped at 25 per cent of the original order value or $68, whichever is less.

Customers who have overdue payments will have the service unavailable to them, and the service is only available to those aged 18 and above.

Afterpay makes money by charging merchants (such as Kmart) a percentage fee per transaction.

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

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