Klarna’s Ambitions to Move Beyond Buy Now, Pay Later
Paying in installments is just a Trojan horse for the payments company’s plans to become a shopping destination
If Sebastian Siemiatkowski made the boat, Klarna wouldn’t exist. Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s co-founder and CEO, was backpacking around the world without taking any airplanes. Missing a cargo ship in Australia delayed his schedule so that instead of enrolling in a masters program in Sweden, he spent a year working for an accounts receivable agency. While there, Siemiatkowski realized there were better payment options than credit cards.
Siemiatkowski is no longer reliant on cargo ships for transportation. Today he can fly private. In June 2021, Klarna raised $639 million at a valuation of $46 billion in a round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, making it one of the most valuable private companies in Europe. The company provides buy now, pay later (BNPL) services for merchants, but its ambitions extend far beyond installments. For Klarna to justify its valuation, it will need to diversify its business. It can’t miss any more boats.
Pay in 4
Younger consumers are shy to adopt credit cards and eager to shop online, creating an opening for BNPL providers like Klarna. Pay in 4 is Klarna’s BNPL product…
