// Source citations for the factual claims in this guide (kept out of the // rendered tree: flow-level MDX comments break Next scroll-on-navigation). export const sources = [ "Klarna UK customer service, 'Does Klarna perform a credit check and will this affect my credit score?', retrieved 2026-06-12: Klarna runs soft credit checks (via TransUnion and Experian) for Pay in 3/6/12, Pay in 30, Financing and the Klarna Card; soft checks do not affect your score and are not visible to other lenders; late and unpaid balances are visible on your credit file to other lenders. https://www.klarna.com/uk/customer-service/perform-credit-check-affect-my-credit-score/", "Klarna press release, 4 May 2022, retrieved 2026-06-12: Klarna reports UK purchases paid on time, late payments and unpaid purchases for Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 orders made on or after 1 June 2022 to Experian and TransUnion; at announcement, both agencies still had scoring updates to make before BNPL data directly moved scores. https://www.klarna.com/international/press/klarnas-fairer-alternative-to-traditional-credit-will-help-uk-consumers-build-a-positive-credit-history-from-june/", "FCA, 'Regulating Buy Now Pay Later', retrieved 2026-06-12: FCA regulation of Deferred Payment Credit (BNPL) starts 15 July 2026; the temporary permissions regime notification window ran 15 May 2026 to 1 July 2026. https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/regulating-buy-now-pay-later", "FCA press release, 'New protections confirmed for Buy Now Pay Later borrowers' (Policy Statement PS26/1), retrieved 2026-06-12: from 15 July 2026 BNPL lenders must run proportionate affordability checks, give clear upfront information including what happens on a missed payment, support customers in financial difficulty, and borrowers can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/new-protections-confirmed-buy-now-pay-later-borrowers", "Klarna UK customer service, 'What happens if I can't pay on time?', retrieved 2026-06-12: missed payments can incur late fees and debt collection; late and unpaid balances appear on your credit file; an overdue Klarna Card balance may be reported in full to credit reference agencies and could affect your credit rating negatively. https://www.klarna.com/uk/customer-service/what-happens-if-i-cant-pay-on-time/", "MoneySavingExpert, 'Klarna to start charging fees if you miss a payment', February 2023, retrieved 2026-06-12: from 16 March 2023 Klarna charges a £5 UK late fee (capped at 25% of the order value, maximum two fees per order) after a week's grace and a minimum of four reminders. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2023/02/klarna-introduces-late-payment-fees/", ];

Guide · 5 minute read · Updated 2 Jul 2026

Does Klarna affect your credit score?

Opening Klarna will not dent your score: its checks are soft searches. But Klarna reports your payment behaviour, on time and missed, to Experian and TransUnion, so lenders can see it. Pay on time and the impact is small; miss payments and it can genuinely hurt.

The check at the till is soft, not hard

When you choose Pay in 3 or Pay in 30 at a checkout, Klarna runs a soft credit check through TransUnion and Experian (as stated on its UK help pages, retrieved June 2026). Soft searches do not affect your score and other lenders cannot see them. That covers Pay in 3, 6 and 12, Pay in 30, Klarna Financing and the Klarna Card application stage. So the act of using Klarna, by itself, leaves no footprint that another lender can react to.

That is only half the story, because what happens after the check is no longer invisible.

What lands on your credit file

Since 1 June 2022, Klarna has reported UK Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 activity to Experian and TransUnion: purchases paid on time, late payments and unpaid balances. Klarna's own help pages (retrieved June 2026) confirm that late and unpaid balances are visible on your credit file to other lenders, and that an overdue Klarna Card balance can be reported in full and "could affect your credit rating negatively".

Whether that data moves your headline score number is messier, and the landscape is still shifting. When reporting started in 2022, both agencies said their scoring models needed further work before BNPL data would directly change scores. The practical position as of June 2026: treat everything Klarna reports as visible to any lender that pulls your file, whether or not it shows up in the three-digit score an app displays. Underwriters read the file, not just the score. Note also that Klarna names TransUnion and Experian; we could not verify equivalent reporting to Equifax, so an Equifax-only check may show a different picture.

What actually hurts

Missing payments is the damage. Klarna's UK process (per MoneySavingExpert's coverage of the March 2023 change) gives you about a week's grace and at least four reminders, then charges a £5 late fee, capped at 25% of the order value and at two fees per order. Keep ignoring it and the debt can be passed to a collection agency, and the unpaid balance sits on your credit file where a future lender will see it. A string of BNPL plans opened in a short window can also read as credit hunger, even when every one is paid on time.

If you are juggling several pay-later plans plus a card, the credit card minimum payment calculator shows why letting revolving debt drift costs so much more than clearing it, and a budget planner session is the fastest way to see whether the instalments actually fit your month.

How Klarna reads on a mortgage application

Mortgage lenders see BNPL two ways. First, the credit file, as above. Second, your bank statements: every Klarna instalment shows as a transaction, and lenders typically ask for three to six months of statements. Occasional, on-time BNPL use is normally fine. What worries underwriters is a pattern, because committed monthly instalments are deducted from your income in the affordability calculation, exactly like a loan payment, and heavy reliance on pay-later for everyday spending suggests a stretched budget. Brokers commonly suggest winding down BNPL use in the months before applying. That is prudence, not a rule; there is no blanket ban on applicants who use Klarna.

Regulation arrives on 15 July 2026

BNPL has sat outside FCA regulation, which is why protections have been thinner than for credit cards. That ends on 15 July 2026, when the FCA begins regulating Deferred Payment Credit under Policy Statement PS26/1 (confirmed February 2026). From that date, BNPL lenders must run proportionate affordability checks before lending, give clear upfront information including what happens if you miss a payment, support customers in financial difficulty, and you gain the right to take complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Firms already operating could notify under a temporary permissions regime between 15 May and 1 July 2026.

For your credit score, the likely knock-on effect is more checking and more reporting across the whole sector, not less. Affordability rules push lenders toward credit data, so expect BNPL to become steadily more visible on files over the next few years. Anything more specific than that is prediction, not fact.

The honest summary

Klarna used carefully is close to neutral: soft search in, on-time payments reported, no drama. Klarna used as a crutch is a real risk: late fees, collection activity, visible missed payments, and a thinner-looking mortgage application. If the instalments only fit your month because they are spread out, that is the warning sign worth acting on before July's new affordability checks act on it for you.

Common questions

Does Klarna do a hard credit check?

No. Klarna's UK help pages (retrieved June 2026) say it runs soft credit checks through TransUnion and Experian for Pay in 3, Pay in 30, Financing and the Klarna Card. Soft checks do not affect your score and are not visible to other lenders.

Can using Klarna build my credit score?

Possibly, modestly. Since June 2022 Klarna has reported on-time Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 payments to Experian and TransUnion, so a clean record adds positive history to your file. How much it moves the headline score depends on each agency's scoring model, which is still evolving as of June 2026.

Will Klarna stop me getting a mortgage?

Occasional, on-time use generally will not. But instalments show on your bank statements and committed payments are deducted in affordability calculations, so heavy BNPL reliance or any missed payments can reduce what you can borrow. Many brokers suggest reducing BNPL use in the months before applying.

What happens if I miss a Klarna payment?

Klarna gives roughly a week's grace and several reminders, then charges a £5 late fee (capped at 25% of the order, maximum two fees per order, per its March 2023 UK fee structure). Continued non-payment can lead to debt collection, and late and unpaid balances appear on your credit file where other lenders can see them.

Is Klarna regulated by the FCA?

BNPL products like Pay in 3 have historically sat outside FCA regulation. That changes on 15 July 2026, when the FCA starts regulating Deferred Payment Credit: lenders must run affordability checks, give clear information, support customers in difficulty, and you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Guidance and education, not regulated financial advice.