Over the past few months, Drag Race stars Kim Chi, Katya, Trixie Mattel, and more have bombarded their followers with social media ads for a service called Klarna, but financial experts, when asked for comment, don’t share the queens’ enthusiasm.

“I’m a psychopath who likes to shop on Klarna,” Trixie laughed on a recent episode of UNHhhh (sponsored by Klarna).

“I want to talk to you about my favorite shopping app,” Kim Chi told her followers in an Instagram Story in late May. “There’s no interest! ... It’s almost too good to be true.”

Several additional Drag Race stars, with social media followers totalling in the millions, have been sponsored by Klarna as “ambassadors,” the company confirmed.

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“At this point I’m expecting season 12 to feature Klarna the Rusical,” wrote one Reddit user.

Though Klarna may be unfamiliar to many in the U.S., the company has been around for a little over a decade in Europe. The pitch is simple enough: Users download the Klarna app, which presents them with a selection of items available through various partner retailers — a bit like shopping on Amazon. But unlike with the e-commerce giant, purchases through Klarna “Pay in 4” service are split up into four payments made every two weeks. You pay for a quarter of the purchase up front and then the remainder in three installments of 25% over the following six weeks.

That so many drag queens are endorsing the service is intentional: Klarna launched a campaign in May called Shop Like a Queen, focused on the Drag Race stars’ followers.

“Klarna thrives in being different,” wrote Klarna representative Melissa Clements in an email interview with them., adding that the company is “showing is [sic] unwavering support for drag and LGBT groups.”

When asked if Klarna engages in any charitable giving to LGBTQ+ nonprofits, Clements wrote that the company might in the future but hasn’t committed to any particular beneficiary.

Meanwhile, some financial advisers are wary about taking on debt through “buy now, pay later” services.

"The less we understand about what we’re paying for something, the more we get unconscious about what we’re spending," says financial advisor David Auten.

“Any time you’re buying now and paying later, you’re putting yourself at risk of falling into a hole of never-ending debt,” says David Rae, a planner who specializes in financial issues for the LGBTQ+ community.

“If you hit the breaking point with one too many purchases,” he warned, “it’ll suddenly go from ‘it’s fine’ to ‘I didn’t know how much that interest would be,’ and it can compound out if you have a lot of purchases.”

That can be a particular risk when services split up payments into intervals that are atypical, such as bi-weekly instead of monthly, says David Auten. Auten cofounded the company Debt Free Guys with his husband, John Schneider. “Back in the day when we used to use checkbooks,” Auten says, “a lot of people didn’t know that they wrote checks and didn’t have money that they already spent. This reintroduces that. Their account is going to be drafted, and they may forget that they’re going to be spending $25, $50, $100 every two weeks.”

Responsible budgeting with Klarna, Auten says, would require users to keep track of their current balance and anticipated debts, so that they won’t be surprised when a scheduled payment hits and their balance suddenly drops. (Klarna does not allow users to pay off their “Pay in 4” balance ahead of schedule, though they do allow early payments through other Klarna services.)

Because of those regular debits, users could be at risk of being hit with unexpected fees. A bank could impose an insufficient-funds fee or an overdraft fee, according to Auten, or a credit card could impose a fee for maxing out.

“We encourage financial responsibility among all of our users,” a Klarna rep wrote to them. “Klarna is a financial tool, that when used correctly, helps anyone budget for that big-ticket item or split out payments for a mini splurge.”

Klarna advertises itself as having a smooth shopping experience, but the lack of friction also has some financial advisers alarmed.

“Companies are trying to make the buying process as quick and as unconscious as possible,” Auten says. “They’re trying to make this a one-click option… But the less we understand about what we’re paying for something, the more we get unconscious about what we’re spending.”

As financial products go, Klarna appears to be challenging to understand, in part because the company offers a range of different financial products, each with its own late-fee policy, and the U.S. version of the website does not appear to compare them in a single place. According to one page on the company’s website, late payments are charged a fee of up to $10, but another page says the fee is up to either $25 or $35, depending on the amount of the minimum payment due, and a third page says the fee is up to $35. When asked for clarification, Clements wrote, “We have eliminated any and all late fees.”

Though the Shop Like a Queen promotion focuses on paying for purchases in four installments, Klarna actually offers a range of slightly different financial products. There’s “Pay in 4,” which splits purchases into four payments; “pay later,” which bills purchases after delivery; and “slice it,” a financing service which acts as a credit line. Because the website doesn’t always capitalize the names of the “pay later” and “slice it” options, users might misunderstand what they’re reading, and interpret the phrases interchangeably.

And good luck untangling the situation with interest. According to Klarna’s terms, “There are no interest charges with Pay later in 4 installments” — which is a bit confusing, since “Pay in 4” and “pay later” are two different products. The site also says the rate for standard purchases is 19.99% if not paid within the promotional period.

“Our core products (Pay in 4 and Pay Later) do not carry interest or fees,” wrote Clements. That seems to contradict what the Klarna website said just a few days prior: “for pay later…If your invoice isn't paid by the due date, you're subject to a late fee up to $10.00.” After them. asked Klarna for clarification, the page was changed to say, “We don't charge any late fees for Pay later invoices, but when they go unpaid past the due date, customers can be blocked from using our payment options in the future.” Some merchant sites like Tom’s still show the language about a $10 late fee.

In an email, Clements wrote, “Your monthly minimum payment is the amount to be paid to avoid incurring late fees on your Klarna Account. Should you chose [sic] to pay your minimum payment instead of your interest-saver payment this will mean you will lose your promotional plan offer and the remaining balance will start to incur interest at 18.9% APR.”

Experts are also concerned about the company’s advertising to queer consumers. According to a 2012 article by Brad Sears and Lee Badgett at UCLA’s Williams Institute, LGBTQ+ people are more likely than straight people to face financial obstacles.

“Our anecdotal experience is that in our community, no matter how fabulous we feel on the outside, a lot of us are masking the pain of being bullied, rejected, picked on, feeling like second-class citizens,” says John Schneider.

A 2018 study by Experian showed that 34% of LGBTQ+ respondents are aware of having bad spending habits that they want to change, compared to 28% of the general population. What’s more, 44% of LGBTQ+ respondents said they struggle to maintain savings, compared to 38% of the general public.

What’s more, a poll commissioned by the queer podcast Nancy found that LGBTQ people were 7% more likely than heterosexuals to feel shame about their finances, and were 11 percentage points more likely to feel depressed about money. That is attributed, in part, to the financial support some LGBTQ+ people lose when they come out to family.

“Our anecdotal experience is that in our community, no matter how fabulous we feel on the outside, a lot of us are masking the pain of being bullied, rejected, picked on, feeling like second-class citizens,” says Schneider of Debt Free Guys. “We mask that with showy displays of wealth.”

Rae, the financial planner, agrees. “There is a lot of pressure to be part of the queer community by spending money,” he says. “It takes a lot of money to dress up, go out with friends, travel, have all the trappings of the stereotypical queer lifestyle.”

Auten also notes that many items available through Klarna are what he calls “luxury adjacent.” That is, they’re not necessarily super high-end, but they’re close. “They make you feel as if you’re living a luxury lifestyle,” he says. “I think it’s very interesting that you can’t use this service at Target, or Home Depot.”

Drag Race fans have expressed wariness online about trying the app.

“If I had a £1 for every time I’ve liked and then immediately unliked a drag queen’s Instagram post because I’ve noticed it’s an irresponsible ad for Klarna,” wrote one Twitter user, “I’d be able to buy people out of the debt Klarna gets them into.”

“I do not believe that RPDR queens are intentionally leading young folks into a debt trap,” wrote another. “But the reality is, they're not educating folks on the risks of Klarna and assuming everyone is an expert in financial responsibility.”

them. reached out to representatives for Trixie Mattel, Katya, and Kim Chi, but did not receive a reply.

However, Auten notes, there are times when buy-now-pay-later services can be useful.

“If you are in an emergency situation, being able to purchase something and not having to pay for it for a few weeks out because you’re waiting for money to come in — I think that can be a benefit,” he says. “But I don’t often have an emergency need for a $7,000 couch.”

Ultimately, Auten says, “these kind of purchasing strategies are swimming in the deep end. If you don’t know what you’re doing, there’s a potential to be charged interest, and that potentially could be charged on top of a credit card payment…someone could go into a hole pretty quickly."

The best way to use an app like Klarna, experts say, is to only spend money that you already have. By all means, use the payment plan to give yourself some flexibility; but don’t allow yourself to overextend or spend beyond your means. If you have the discipline to pay off your credit card in full every month, then Klarna may indeed be, as its drag spokespeople claim, a fun way to shop.

And beyond that, Rae says, there’s another reason to appreciate the company: “I like anyone that anyone uses drag queens in their advertising,” he says. “Those girls need to earn their money.”

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