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Klarna raises $639M at a $45.6B valuation and becomes the highest-valued private fintech in Europe and the second-highest worldwide

11 iunie 2021

Just over three months after its last funding round, European fintech giant Klarna is announcing today that it has secures additional funding as consumers demand smarter alternatives to shop, bank, & pay.

Klarna, the leading global payments provider, retail bank, and shopping service, today confirms a new equity funding of USD 639 million. The round will support international expansion and further capture global retail growth.

The post-money valuation of Klarna is USD 45.6 billion and remains the highest-valued private fintech in Europe and the second-highest worldwide. As part of the GiveOne initiative established by Klarna earlier this year, 1% of this equity raised will be directed to initiatives supporting planet health.

Klarna enables consumers to shop, pay and bank in a smarter way, designed to fit the lives they lead, rather than the requirements of the traditional payments and banking industry.

„The ongoing structural shift of consumers turning away from revolving credit lines where they incur interest or fees to debit and simultaneously seeking superior retail experiences means Klarna’s healthier, more transparent and convenient alternatives, which put consumers in control are closely aligned to evolving global consumer preferences and drive global growth,” according to the press release. 

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna Founder and CEO said: “Consumers continue to reject interest-and fee-laden revolving credit and are moving toward debit while simultaneously seeking retail experiences that better meet their needs. Klarna’s more transparent and convenient alternatives align with evolving global consumer preferences and drive worldwide growth. I’m very proud of the investors who are supporting Klarna’s ambition to challenge these outdated models to empower consumers with fair, transparent, and convenient products to help them bank, shop and pay each day.

Yanni Pipilis, managing partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers said: “Klarna’s growth is founded on a deep understanding of how the purchasing behaviors of consumers are changing, an evolution which we believe is accelerating. Klarna has already successfully expanded into the US and we are excited to continue supporting the team in bringing the next generation of financial services to new markets worldwide.” 

Eric Munson, founder and CIO of Adit Ventures said: “Klarna’s rapid growth has been a testament to their innovation, leadership, and execution—however, we believe the best is yet to come as Klarna multiplies their addressable market through global expansion.”

Charlie Young, partner at WestCap commented: “Klarna is leading a revolution in consumer preference, and has already reimagined the payments, eCommerce, and banking experience for tens of millions of people. Klarna’s global scale and leading market position create even more opportunity for the business going forward.”

Klarna is available direct to consumers via the company’s shopping app, used by 18m customers worldwide as well as at over 250,000 retailers globally. In the app, consumers can browse and shop at any brand online with Klarna payment options, allowing them to pay immediately or later, manage spending and available balances, add favorite items to collections, initiate refunds, access tailored discounts, receive price-drop notifications, track deliveries intelligently and join Klarna’s loyalty program, Vibe. 

Klarna’s Q1 2021 results evidence how such services are resonating with consumers, recording over USD 18.9bn GMV (Q1 2020: USD 9.9bn) for the period driven by growth in all markets and exceptional momentum in the US with over 18 million American consumers now using Klarna. In 2020, the Klarna app consistently ranked among the Top 10 app downloads in the US and this momentum continues as downloads in 2021 have increased 125% year on year, propelling record volumes in March 2021.

Klarna is now live with 24 of the top 100 US retailers, more than any of its competitors, illustrating our position as the global shopping partner of choice. Equally, Klarna’s global footprint across 17 markets continues to grow, with a number of new markets launching in 2021 including France just this week, soon to be the largest e-commerce market in Europe worth over USD 185bn by 2024. 

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With over 90 million global active users and 2 million transactions a day, Klarna is meeting the changing demands of consumers who want to shop, pay and bank on one intuitive platform and with one trusted brand. Over 250,000 global retail partners, including H&M, Sephora, IKEA, Samsung, ASOS, and Nike have enabled Klarna’s innovative shopping experience online and in-store.

Klarna was founded in 2005, has over 4,000 employees and is active in 17 markets. Klarna has been backed by Sequoia Capital since 2010 and more recently, SilverLake, Dragoneer, Bestseller Group, Permira, Ant Group, HMI Capital, TCV, NorthZone, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock amongst others.

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Anders Olofsson – former Head of Payments Finastra

Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”

So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”

Many more interesting quotes in the video below:

Sondaj

In 23 septembrie 2019, BNR a anuntat infiintarea unui Fintech Innovation Hub pentru a sustine inovatia in domeniul serviciilor financiare si de plata. In acest sens, care credeti ca ar trebui sa fie urmatorul pas al bancii centrale?