COLUMBUS, Ohio—Klarna is adding a new twist to its buy now, pay later (BNPL) offerings—and the move could siphon deposits away from financial institutions, one analysis is suggesting.
The company is rolling out two new products that could make its BNPL offerings more enticing to use.
The company is offering consumers in the U.S. and 11 European countries the ability to store money in a Klarna “balance” account, where they can deposit money directly from their bank account, Tech Crunch reported.
They can use the money to pay for purchases in full or to pay for their installments when they use Klarna’s BNPL service, the report added.
‘Save Now, Pay Later’
Klarna’s marketing slogan for this is “save now, pay later.”
"Klarna isn’t offering shoppers interest on that cash account like a typical savings account in the United States yet, but the plan is to get there,” Tech Crunch said.
Klarna does pay interest of up to 3.58% in Europe, Tech Crunch added.