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Klarna said retailers using Stripe who integrated with Klarna’s payment method saw an average 27pc increase in sales.
Stripe and Klarna are turning up the heat in the ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) space with a new strategic partnership that will help retailers give their customers the option to pay through Klarna.
Following the deal, global retailers that use Stripe can integrate Klarna’s payment methods in all markets where Klarna is active. Klarna uses Stripe’s infrastructure as a preferred payments partner to accept credit card payments from consumers in the US and Canada.
At $45.6bn, Stockholm-based Klarna is Europe’s most valuable privately held fintech. One of the first players in the BNPL space, Klarna raised $1bn in March and another $639m in June. According to the company, its consumer app currently has 18m monthly users.
The company’s CTO Koen Köppen said that Klarna and Stripe have “redefined” the e-commerce experience for millions of people in the past few years.
“Together with Stripe, we will be a true growth partner for our retailers of all sizes, allowing them to maximise their entrepreneurial success through our joint services.”
Stiff competition
The BNPL sector has seen a flurry of deals in the past few months, with big players such as Mastercard recently joining the space with its Installments service currently available in the US, UK and Australia. UK digital bank Monzo also jumped on the trend with its latest feature, Monzo Flex.
Big names are also turning to acquisitions to get into the market. PayPal acquired Japanese BNPL player Paidy last month and Jack Dorsey’s Square snapped up Afterpay’s BNPL service in a $29bn deal in August. Goldman Sachs, too, acquired BNPL service GreenSky for $2.24bn.
Klarna said that, based on first results, retailers using Stripe who integrated with Klarna’s payment method saw and an average 27pc increase in sales, 41pc increase in average order volume, and 36pc increase in purchase frequency – all of which led to increases in revenue.
“Klarna’s payment options are a powerful tool for online businesses to attract more customers, boost conversion rates, increase basket sizes, and thus grow their revenue,” said Stripe chief product officer Will Gaybrick.
Klarna on Stripe is now available in 20 countries including the UK, the US and Ireland.
Updated 26 October, 4.50pm: This article was amended to show that Klarna is currently valued at $45.6bn.
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