Klarna launches debit card across EU

Klarna is launching its debit card across the EU, with the UK soon to follow, as the Swedish fintech looks to up the ante against existing banks. Klarna, most well-known for its BNPL products, is looking to reposition itself as a bank.

Klarna is also gearing up for another crack at an IPO, with reports that it is seeking a valuation between $13bn and $14bn when it lists in the US, which could come as early as this month.

As part of this shift to become a bank, across the EU Klarna is launching the Klarna Card, a card that offers consumers the option to pay immediately, choose Pay in 3 or Pay Later, or use longer-term financing for larger purchases, online or in-store.

The Klarna Card launched in the US in July this year, with Klarna, which has over 100 million active users, saying 685,000 Americans have signed up.

Klarna is currently rolling the card out to customers in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, with the plan to roll out across the subsequent markets of Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Poland. It also plans to launch the card in the UK.

Visa is the card network partner for the Klarna Card, so this means the card will be accepted at over 150 million Visa merchant locations. The Swedish fintech is touting its card as an all-encompassing payment option, saying the card can pay for everything from everyday essentials to bigger one-off purchases.

Klarna points out that card-based purchases now account for 10 per cent of Klarna’s payment volume. Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, said: "When I was a teenager working in retail, the checkout terminals gave consumers a simple choice: debit or credit.

"Over time, that choice was taken away and consumers had less control over when to use debit or credit. Our new Klarna Card brings that choice back, giving consumers control over their money again.”