Klarna launches SMB initiative as it expands US presence

Klarna, a Sweden-based ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) provider with global reach, is launching a program to help pandemic-affected U.S. businesses, which includes in-kind media services, and free BNPL offerings.

Why should we care?
The move to support U.S. businesses comes as Klarna embarks on a U.S. expansion push. The company is part of a wave of international BNPL companies expanding to the U.S. Klarna, which processed global gross merchandise volume of $53B last year, says the U.S. is its fastest growing market behind Sweden and Germany. Other non-U.S. companies looking to grow U.S. market share include Australian companies Afterpay and Zip. Klarna’s Small Business Impact Initiative will offer qualified businesses a year of free BNPL payment services, and “media services” (it didn’t say what those are, exactly) valued at $40,000 across the Klarna ecosystem. The goal, according to Klarna, is to tap its network of 16 million U.S. shoppers and over 250,000 global retail partners to unlock new revenue opportunities for businesses. Klarna also likely wants to use the initiative to increase its footprint across the U.S. market. The company could also be looking to curry favor among the merchant community amid speculation that U.S. regulators may be looking to impose tighter guardrails around an industry that’s attracted considerable attention during the pandemic. The issue is whether or not BNPL services improve a consumer’s financial health or put them at risk of default, a concern regulators in other markets have been looking to address.