Marks and Spencer M&S Sparks on an ipad

The option requires no credit application and simply splits the usual single payment into four

M&S is to let customers pay for online purchases in four instalments over six weeks interest-free.

The option will be available on purchases of clothing and home products worth between £30 and £800 from mid-November.

The option requires no credit application and simply splits the usual single payment into four, according to M&S.

Customers can check the status of payments or bring them forward to an earlier date using a new app from Clearpay, M&S’s payment partner in the new service.

Late payments incur fees capped at 25% of the original order value or £36, whichever is less, following a “small grace period”, an M&S spokesman said. He said the default rate was expected to be lower than 1%.

The move was “the latest step in M&S’s far-reaching transformation, becoming more relevant to customers with widespread change across the business”.

M&S Bank and services director Kirsty Ward said: “We’re committed to providing our customers with seamless, easy and convenient ways to pay, and that’s why we’ve introduced this fully integrated and interest-free option to help spread the cost of shopping on M&S.com.”

Clearpay UK CEO Carl Scheible said: “We are thrilled to launch with M&S especially as we head into the busy Christmas shopping and trading season. We’re looking forward to being part of their development as they continue their transformation for customers.”