Klarna launches in Ireland

Klarna is a fintech company from Sweden that launched its “buy now, pay later” service in Ireland on November 9th local time .

Klarna is now active in Ireland, where consumers can pay for their purchases in three interest-free instalments at any online store , whether or not the seller is a Klarna retailer . Klarna CEO said: “Ireland is a very exciting market for us because people are moving away from using credit cards. As old-school financial institutions exit the market, it’s in the best interest of consumers for us to create more competition here . ”

Klarna recently launched in Poland , followed by a new partnership with Stripe and recently announced a one-stop shopping app. The company is currently active in 17 markets and was valued at around €8.9 billion in 2020, making it Europe’s largest fintech unicorn.

Not only has Klarna grown geographically, but it has now outpaced its competitors and established itself as the leading buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, with a 53% market share , according to data provided by HelpCenter, which is higher than its competitors Afterpay, Sezzle, ZipPay and Affirm combined, which have a combined share of 39%.

Of all the websites offering Klarna as a payment method, 34% are from Germany , and a whopping 31% are from the US, while Klarna’s home market Sweden accounts for only 12% , followed by the UK ( 8%) and the Netherlands (5%). Klarna’s activity in 12 other markets accounts for a total of 10%.

But Klarna's growth and the popularity of buy now, pay later among consumers have also raised regulatory concerns. A recent study showed that 36% of Generation Z used buy now, pay later in 2021 , a six - fold increase since 2019. Critics worry that young people are more vulnerable to potential debt.

In Klarna's home market, offering " buy now, pay later " ahead of other payment methods has been illegal since 2020. The UK Advertising Authority has also banned some Klarna ads. However, the company argued that credit card companies were in a worse situation , with Klarna offering interest-free instalments while banks use high interest rates.

While Klarna has grown exponentially over the past few years, more regulation and growing consumer debt could make it harder for the company, which is preparing for an initial public offering, to scale in the future.

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