The Sweden-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) fintech is piloting a bank account in Germany, with plans to roll out the offering more broadly in the coming months, TechCrunch reports. The account allows customers to receive money, set up direct deposit, and use an Apple Pay- and Google Pay-compatible debit card. Customers can also track their spending and upcoming payments within the Klarna app, while budgeting tools and savings accounts are in the works. This is not Klarna’s first banking push: It operates savings accounts in Sweden, after securing a full banking license in 2017. And in June 2020, it debuted a savings account in Germany exclusively for customers of digital savings marketplace Raisin.
The addition of money management tools in particular will make Klarna’s banking product consistent with its flagship product, which promotes smarter spending. Its BNPL product enables customers to pay for ecommerce purchases in installments, track past purchases and upcoming payments, access a marketplace of stores that accept it as a payment method, track deliveries, and track price changes, among other features. Customers who already use Klarna as a means to spend responsibly without racking up credit card debt might be even more inclined to try its banking product if it also boasts tools meant to give users greater control over their finances.
Klarna has ambitions of building a financial “super app,” which, given its scale, poses a direct threat to neobanks.
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