Klarna Group plc, commonly referred to asKlarna, is a Swedishfintech company that provides onlinefinancial services. The company provides payment processing services for the e-commerce industry, managing store claims and customer payments.[4] The company is abuy now, pay later service provider.[5]
The company has more than 5,000 employees. Most work at the headquarters inStockholm and offices inBerlin. In 2021, the company handled about US$80 billion in online sales.[1]
Klarna initially planned to file as an Americaninitial public offering (IPO) in April 2025 and was projected to be valued at $15 billion.[6] The valuation was about one-third of its peak of $45.6 billion in 2021.[7][8] Klarna delayed its IPO filing as a result of market volatilityamid tariff uncertainties under the Trump administration, but launched its IPO in September 2025 and raised $1.37 billion.[9]
In 2007,venture capital firmInvestment AB Öresund invested in the company.[14] In 2010, Klarna started providing services in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. It also received an investment fromSequoia Capital,[15] and increased its revenue by over 80% to US$54million (~400millionSEK).[16] In 2011, British newspaperThe Telegraph listed Klarna as one of Europe's 100 most promising young tech companies.[17]
In 2011, growth equity firmGeneral Atlantic led a $155million investment round joined byDST Global, and General Atlantic's managing directorAnton Levy joined the board of directors.[18][19] In May 2011, Klarna acquired Israeli company Analyzd, which provided risk management and fraud prevention services. As of 2011[update], about 40% of alle-commerce sales in Sweden were through Klarna.[20] In 2013, Klarna and GermanSOFORT AG [de] merged to become Klarna Group.[21]
In 2019, Klarna raised $460million with plans to expand its operations in the US, with participation fromDragoneer Investment Group,Commonwealth Bank of Australia, HMI Capital, Merian Chysalis Investment Company Limited, and others.[29] This funding round valued the company at $5.5billion, making Klarna the largestfintech start-up in Europe.[30] In 2020, Klarna acquired Nuji, a marketplace for fashion and lifestyle goods.[31]
In 2020,Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Chinese e-commerce companyAlibaba, invested in Klarna as part of a partnership between the two firms.[32] In June 2021, Klarna raised $639million in a fundraising round led bySoftBank Group's Vision Fund 2, increasing the company's valuation to $45.6billion.[33] In July 2021, Klarna acquired Stocard, an app for storing loyalty cards.[34]
In November 2021, Klarna launched its physical card, which enabled users to make purchases in interest-free installments.[35] In January 2022, Klarna launched its physical card in the UK.[36] The card had a wait list of 400,000 users as of January 2022[update].[37] In 2021, the company was Europe's most valuable private tech company, at a $45.6billion valuation. Its valuation fell to $6.7billion in 2022 after it struggled to attract additional outside investment.[38][39][40][41]
In March 2022, Klarna acquiredPriceRunner, a company that provides price comparisons on products.[42] In May 2022, Klarna laid off roughly 10% of its workforce.[43][44] In June 2022, Klarna announced a partnership deal with card issuer Marqeta to bring physical Visa cards to the US.[45]
In July 2022, Klarna raised $800million in funding at a valuation of $6.7billion. Its valuation dropped 85% in one year, in line with decreasing valuations of unprofitable technology companies.[40] Klarna lost $580million between January and July 2022.[46] In September 2022, it announced plans to lay off an additional 100 employees. The announcement came after budget revisions due to its drop in valuation and announced losses. Since September 2022, Klarna offerssavings accounts and deposits to Spanish customers throughRaisin Bank [es;de].[47]
In October 2022, the company launched a new "Klarna Creator" application for retailers and influencers to collaborate on brand campaigns and track their earnings.[48] In January 2024, the company announced a plan for a monthly subscription plan ahead of an anticipated initial public offering later in the year. Users of the service, called Klarna Plus, would earn double the amount of usual reward points, attain access to a selection of discounts from partners likeNike andInstacart, and see service fees waived when using the Klarna One Time Card. The fee would be $7.99 each month, as opposed to typical fees of $1 or $2 when using the service outside the network at retailers likeWalmart orCostco. The company's Chief Marketing Officer, David Sandstrom, said there were also plans for a high-yield savings account in the US, with potential for subscribers to earn a higher rate than non-users.[49][50][51]
In February 2024, Klarna announced thatAI had replaced 700 of its employees, about 10% of the workforce at the time.[52][53] In November 2024, Klarna filed for an initial public offering in the US.[54] In February 2025, Klarna's valuation was estimated at $15 billion.[55] Klarna filed its IPO prospectus in March 2025 with plans to go public on theNew York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol KLAR.[56]
In April 2025, Klarna paused its plans for a U.S. IPO due to market instability caused byPresident Trump's new tariff policies, which shook markets all over the world. Klarna had planned to raise over $1 billion at a valuation above $15 billion. Although the IPO market was showing signs of recovery in 2025, recent listings like Venture Global and CoreWeave had mixed receptions. Market analysts say that such instability often leads companies to delay IPOs. Klarna had 93 million users in 26 countries by the end of 2024, and had seen its valuation drop from a peak of $45.6 billion in 2021 as online spending slowed post-pandemic.[57]
In June 2025, Klarna announced it would pilot a debit card program in the US market, ahead of a full release in Europe. The Klarna Card will allow users to access FDIC-insured funds and Klarna's pay later services.[58] In September 2025, Klarna relaunched its US initial public offering (IPO) which was priced at $40 a share and raised $1.37 billion. At the close of the first day of trading, its valuation was over $17 billion.[59]
In July 2025, Klarna announced a partnership with the fashion resale marketplacePoshmark.[60]
In the UK, Klarna operates in the rapidly growing post-payment sector which has been criticised for encouraging consumers to get themselves into unserviceable levels of debt.[61] In February 2021, the UK Government announced that the sector would be subject to regulation from the UK'sFinancial Conduct Authority.[62]
In Sweden a large number of complaints regarding Klarna were sent to theSwedish Consumer Agency in 2014. Many customers had received reminder fees and threats about debt collection without having received a proper invoice. It was speculated if this was an unethical business model since the company made money on these reminder fees and Klarna also had a subsidiary dedicated to debt collection. The Swedish Consumer Agency found a reason to investigate how Klarna added credit fees for partial payments.[63] In 2013, the co-founder Niklas Adalberth said in a presentation during the startup conference Arctic15 that: "That is one of our revenue streams... the best customer is the one that doesn't pay directly but actually [gets] a reminder and then also debt collection because we are able to add the legal fees."[64]
In Germany, the District Court ofBremerhaven ruled in 2022 that Klarna could not demand a flat rate of €1.20 for a reminder by e-mail because Klarna had not submitted any corresponding costs.[65][66]
In February 2020,Der Spiegel reported that Klarna'sautofill feature allowed anyone to extract personal information, such as phone number, postal address and date of birth, only based on the email address and postal code of a customer.[67] In October 2020, Klarna mistakenly sent a marketing email to people who had never disclosed their contact information to Klarna. This triggered an investigation by theInformation Commissioner's Office in the UK.[68]
For a brief period in May 2021, users could view the information of other users using their own login information. Klarna claims that user information was exposed randomly, and that these exposures only contained non-sensitive data. But users claimed that they were able to view addresses, phone numbers, and payment details of other people.[69][70]
Identity thieves have used Klarna to commit fraud. They exploit Klarna's buy now, pay later scheme to make purchases with a small upfront payment on a stolen account,flip those goods at a much higher price, and then evade making payments.[71][72][73] CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski was summoned to theSwedish Ministry of Finance to answer questions about its management of identity theft and the debts of customers in May 2019.[74] In 2022, the company said that its fraud checks and controls are as strict as those of banks.[72]
In March 2022, theSwedish Authority for Privacy Protection (Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten) fined Klarna 7.5 millionkr for inadequacies in its privacy notice and handling of personal data. Klarna said it would appeal the decision for further clarification on the guidelines.[75][76]
In May 2022, Siemiatkowski revealed it would be laying off more than 10% of its employees. A former employee described the layoffs as "chaotic". When Siemiatkowski posted a list of the fired employees onLinkedIn, several users described his post as "tone deaf".[77]
Many Swedish e-commerce scams use Klarna as their payment solution.[78][79] There are many cases of ID thefts, when Klarna is used to make transactions in other people's names.[80][81]
In December 2024, the CEO said how AI affected his company's hiring policies. According to him the company did not recruit last year because, "AI can do all of the jobs that we humans do. It's just a question of how we apply it and use it".[82] In May 2025, the CEO told Bloomberg the company was hiring humans again as over-reliance on AI approach led to "lower quality".[83]
^Kronö, Simon (7 May 2024)."Så rundar bluffsajterna Klarna – och lurar nya kunder".Dagens PS (in Swedish).Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved8 May 2024.Konsumentverket hängde för två veckor sedan ut tio bluffsajter som säger sig sälja varor från egna lager i Sverige, men som egentligen skickar dem från utlandet. En majoritet av de namngivna nätbutikerna har Klarna som betalalternativ.
US$2.81 billion (2024)
US$−121 million (2024)
