Swedish fintech giant Klarna is set to integrate cryptocurrencies into its services, signaling a strategic pivot for the global buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) leader.

This shift comes as the company’s reported plans for a US IPO later this year.

Klarna CEO Confirms Crypto Plans but Rules Out BNPL for Digital Assets

On February 8, CEO Sebastian Siematkowski confirmed the company’s plans to enter the crypto market. According to him, the company might be one of the last major fintech firms to make this move, but this is a milestone in itself.

“Ok. I give up. Klarna and me will embrace crypto! More to come. Btw all crypto fans, tell me what we should do with it? We have 85 million users worldwide, 100 billion of volume, and over 0.5 million merchants. About 30% of volume is debit not credit. Over 1 million cards,” Siematkowski said.

While the company is open to exploring various crypto integration strategies, Siematkowski has welcomed industry feedback to refine Klarna’s approach. However, he dismissed the possibility of offering BNPL services for crypto purchases.

In response, community members suggested that the firm could leverage stablecoins to give its users more flexibility in digital transaction settlements.

Industry stakeholders compared the firm to Go to Source to See Full Article
Author: Oluwapelumi Adejumo