Klarna reorganizes - and shows statistics for the first time

The Swedish fintech with a strong presence in Germany publishes selected figures on user behavior and wants to make its products more user-friendly.

Fintech Klarna has announced a major product offensive. Founded in 2005, the company is currently valued at more than 40 billion euros, making it one of the most highly valued start-ups in Europe. It recently came in for criticism because the hashtag #Klarnaschulden trended on platforms such as TikTok, and some consumer advocates are also critical of the start-up's offering.

The company, which has chosen Germany as one of its most important markets, wants to counter the critics with its new product offensive. Klarna wants to double the payment period for invoices and "eliminate unnecessary fees over the coming months", it says. In addition, there will no longer be any credit offers with endless terms and the number of free payment reminders will increase.

Klarna also wants to show more transparently how high the proportion of invoices with reminder fees is or how often a debt collection agency has been called in. In the so-called "Wikipink", based on the reference work Wikipedia, Klarna now publishes selected statistics. For example, it can be seen that the most popular payment method is purchase on account, followed by instant payments. According to Klarna, installment payments only account for three percent of all payments.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, says in a statement: "Klarna has both the opportunity and the responsibility to drive change towards an improved financial situation for consumers worldwide. We can do this by raising awareness and making the lack of transparency in the market visible. However, we can have the biggest impact by taking action ourselves. That is why we will be making far-reaching product changes in Germany with immediate effect. We are convinced that both consumers and retailers will benefit from this and we call on the industry to follow suit."