From PayPal to Klarna, in-store shopping in installments: starting from 8 euros per month

Starting in June 2025, Klarna will be available on Google Pay in the United States, allowing users to pay for purchases over $35 (about €8 per month) in four interest-free installments. At the same time, PayPal will introduce an NFC contactless wallet with options for up to 24 months in Europe by the end of the year. It is expected to arrive in Italy immediately after Germany.

These solutions, called “Buy Now Pay Later” (Bnpl), revolutionize in-store spending, offering on the one hand greater flexibility and immediate access to goods, but also push for fixed monthly expenses that, added to a mortgage, bills and various subscriptions, can weigh on the family budget to the point of compromising it.

Klarna in installments in store, the situation in the USA

The partnership between Klarna and Google ushers in a new era of digital payments in the United States. Starting in June 2025, Google Pay users can choose “Pay in 4” to split purchases over $35 into four interest-free monthly installments, a formula that brings the installment to about 8 euros per month.

With over 85 million active consumers and 600,000 partner stores, Klarna thus enriches the Google ecosystem, already used by 25 million users in the US. The integration does not stop at checkout, in fact, through the Klarna app you can manage shipments, returns and refund plans, transforming the traditional digital wallet into a real complete financial hub.

PayPal is coming to Italy too

By the end of 2025, Italy should also benefit from PayPal's new contactless wallet , already rolling out in Germany and other European markets. Available on the latest version of the app for Android and iOS, the service uses the NFC chip and the Mastercard circuit to allow fast and secure payments in enabled physical stores.

Users will be able to choose to pay each expense in 3, 6, 12 or 24 months : the first three installments will be interest-free, while interest may apply on the more extensive plans.

What awaits us in the future?

The concept of private property, the cornerstone of our social and economic life for centuries, is now being challenged by the digitalization of every aspect of daily life. With the advent of the Internet, more and more objects and services, from voice assistants to smart refrigerators, from e-books to connected cars, remain only formally in the hands of consumers, while in substance they remain "subscribed" to the companies that control licenses, updates and even activation.

This shift is not just a paradigm shift , it means that ownership becomes a right of remotely revocable access, with real risks of surveillance, disruption of service or manipulation by manufacturers or corporate ownership changes, criminals in the event of cyber attacks or even adverse state authorities.

As the market increasingly shifts towards rental and subscription models , “analog” alternatives risk disappearing or remaining confined to niches. Future generations will grow up accustomed to not fully owning what they use every day, entrusting their freedom and privacy to digital platforms and contracts. In this scenario, the real issue will be to redefine the rights , guarantees and protections for those who “access” but never own the objects they purchase and use.

What are the risks?

Furthermore, paying in installments, while offering flexibility and the possibility of dividing the disbursement without interest if paid on time, hides pitfalls that can translate into real financial traps. The absence of initial costs and the ease of use make the Bnpl extremely attractive, but the accumulation of multiple payment plans, for purchases of electronics, subscriptions, food or vacations, can quickly lead to over-indebtedness , especially in the absence of financial literacy as in Italy.

Already in 2022, an analysis by Crif showed how the default rate of Bnpl contracts doubled compared to the previous year, highlighting a criticality that particularly affects younger consumers , who are inclined to defer even small amounts without fully evaluating the overall commitment. Added to this is the lack of a real assessment of creditworthiness: unlike traditional loans, Bnpl does not require an in-depth analysis of the guarantees or the user's income, often relying on simplified artificial intelligence algorithms and superficial checks.

A further risk factor is the weakness of legal protections: Bnpl contracts may provide for automatic renewals, penalties for delays that are not always clearly communicated and clauses that limit the possibility of contestation. In the long term, the impact on the credit history may translate into difficulties in accessing more structured financial instruments, as well as an increase in overall costs if interest rates are applied to longer deferrals.

In the absence of a solid financial education, the combination of these critical issues—easy access to credit, rising default rates, simplified credit assessments, and limited legal protections—can turn what appears to be a comfortable monthly payment into a dangerous debt loop.