Following the news that Swedish fintech company Klarna has partnered with JP Morgan Payments to expand buy now, pay later (BNPL) options for merchants in the US, Phoebe Hodgson – Associate Analyst, Banking and Payments at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view.
“Just months ahead of its anticipated April IPO, Klarna is integrating its payment options into JP Morgan Payments Commerce Solutions platform. As the largest payments acceptance player in the US, surpassing Stripe, Adyen, and others, JP Morgan’s decision to integrate Klarna rather than scale its own internal My Chase Plan BNPL solution highlights the strategic benefits of collaboration. The partnership not only strengthens Klarna’s presence in the US but also boosts its visibility ahead of its IPO. Meanwhile, for JP Morgan, the alliance allows the bank to expand its BNPL capabilities efficiently, giving US consumers access to a proven solution without the challenges of in-house development.
“As per GlobalData’s E-commerce Analytics, the US BNPL market is projected to reach a value of $240.8 billion by 2028, almost double its 2024 size. This exceptional growth has drawn significant interest from banks and financial service providers eager to capitalize on BNPL’s lucrative opportunities. While many have explored developing their own BNPL solutions, banks are increasingly seeing the advantages of collaborating with established BNPL providers to enhance their offerings and drive consumer adoption. Recognizing the value of these partnerships, the industry is now witnessing a shift in strategy, with banks working alongside BNPL providers to deliver more integrated and scalable solutions.
“Beyond Klarna and JP Morgan, another major collaboration is taking shape between FIS and Affirm, introducing a BNPL option for debit card transactions. This partnership enables FIS clients, primarily banks, to integrate pay-over-time solutions directly into their digital banking and mobile platforms. By embedding itself within debit programs, Affirm gains further access to a broad network of financial institutions, deepening its influence in the US payments landscape.
“As the second-largest BNPL provider in the US, Affirm has successfully built a powerful ecosystem centered on merchant ROI, seamless consumer experiences, and an intuitive app. These factors have fueled increased merchant transactions and market share growth. Through its partnership with Affirm, FIS can tap into this ecosystem, providing its banking customers with advanced payment options and responding to the growing consumer demand for flexible payments.
“These partnerships raise a critical question: does BNPL function better as a standalone business rather than as part of a broader fintech stack? While time will determine the ultimate success of these alliances, the strong growth of standalone BNPL providers like Klarna and Affirm combined with banks’ increasing preference for collaboration, suggests that partnerships offer a faster and more effective route for banks to establish a strong BNPL presence. As such, strategic alliances are proving essential for banks looking to enhance their payment offerings and capture a greater share of the fast-growing US BNPL market.”
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:
