Swedish short-term loan FinTech platform Klarna Bank AB isn’t working on an initial public offering but might consider one in 2022 at the earliest, CEO and Co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg Wednesday (Aug. 18).
Klarna’s valuation reached $45.6 billion—more than four times higher than the company’s value last year—after its latest funding round.
“We want to challenge traditional banking incumbents, that would apply to everything we do and would include also a listing,” Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg. “It’s more plausible to think that an IPO can happen, but we don’t have any immediate plans and aren’t working on this right now.”
Klarna hasn’t decided whether to offer new stock in its potential listing, he said. The company won’t fight the U.K.’s plans to regulate buy now, pay later products, said Siemiatkowski, who said the Pay in 30 days option is better for consumers than credit card debt.
Related: BNPL Firm Klarna Officially Debuts In Poland
Klarna has expanded its “Pay in 30 days” philosophy into Poland as part of a collaboration with clothing retailer H&M and in conjunction with the Klarna app, the company announced on Wednesday (Aug. 18) in a press release.
The company expects to offer the payment option to other Poland retailers soon and will bring a local team to Warsaw, while also enhancing its European offices in Germany, the U.K., the Nordics, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy.
With Klarna’s Pay in 30 days option, customers can buy items and make interest-free payments. The company’s app allows shoppers to manage their Klarna payments with participating retailers.
Klarna’s debut in Poland coincides as demand for eCommerce is skyrocketing around the world. A Klarna-commissioned survey of 1,074 respondents, ages 18 to 65, showed 96 percent have made an online purchase in 2021, with one-third buying weekly.
About one-third of the survey respondents said they would have used the pay later option for their purchases if it was offered. Close to 70 percent of those who responded said they would trust a merchant more if a pay later option was available.
The collaboration with H&M comes on the heels of Klarna’s recently launched partnership with YOOX NET-A-PORTER, an online luxury and fashion brand. Klarna announced a similar partnership with pet supply chain Petco, allowing customers to pay off their purchases in four interest-free installments.
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