Klarna restructures - and shows statistics for the first time

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

Fintech Klarna has announced a major product offensive. Founded in 2005, it is currently valued at more than 40 billion euros, making it one of the most highly valued startups in Europe. Most recently, it had to take criticism because the hashtag #Klarnaschulden trended on platforms such as TikTok, and some consumer advocates also view the start-up's offering critically.

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

In addition, Klarna wants to show more transparently how high the proportion of invoices with reminder fees is or how often a 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. Installment payments account for only three percent of all payments, according to Klarna.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna says in a statement, "Klarna has both the opportunities and the responsibility to drive change towards an improved financial situation for consumers* worldwide. We can do this by raising awareness and making visible the lack of transparency in the market. However, we have the greatest impact when we take 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 and we call on the industry to follow suit."