Today, Swedish fintech Klarna announced the launch of its own U.S. Visa debit card, aiming to expand its business beyond short-term credit products.
The company, primarily known for its popular “buy now, pay later” services, will pilot its Klarna Card with some customers in the U.S. ahead of a planned nationwide rollout.
Klarna announced that its card will launch in Europe later this year.
“We want Americans to start to associate us with not only buy now, pay later, but [with] the PayPal wallet type of experience that we have, and also the neobank offering that we offer. We are basically a neobank to a large degree, but people associate us still strongly with buy now, pay later.” Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski stated.
The firm stated that it intends to explore further into the fiercely competitive consumer banking market, which is largely dominated by well-known heavyweights.
Although Klarna does not possess its own U.S. bank license, it operates under a full banking license in the European Union. The company can still offer FDIC-insured accounts thanks to a partnership with WebBank, a financial institution based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff