Europe’s startup slaughterhouse: After pandemic-era fattening, inflation, war, and an energy crisis have triggered a pullback in startup investment. Wintertime natural gas supplies and hiring are key indicators to watch.

On today's episode, we discuss why the new Wells Fargo credit card is significant and the short- and long-term challenges of credit card companies. "In Other News," we talk about what to make of the market value free fall of buy now, pay later giant Klarna and why Meta is ending the pilot for Novi, the company's digital wallet. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts David Morris and Jaime Toplin.

Global fintech funding dropped by one-third in Q2, new data shows.

As the online BNPL space saturates, Afterpay and Klarna are turning to in-store partners to fuel growth.

In the US, 55.1% of Gen Z digital buyers ages 14 and older will use a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service at least once this year. That figure drops to 48.6% for millennial digital buyers and becomes progressively smaller among older generations.

Klarna is staring down a potential 85% valuation cut—here’s what fintechs will have to contend with in H2.

BNPL providers are in the eye of a perfect storm, as investor and regulatory scrutiny, increasing competition, and the prospect of recession put them at risk. But it’s still early days—and we see foresee a long growth runway. Read on to learn how retailers and providers can navigate the current landscape to their maximum benefit.

The solution lets customers store their loyalty cards in the Klarna app, which may help encourage use.

Klarna is the most popular buy now, pay later (BNPL) service in the US, with 34.8 million users ages 14 and older. Afterpay takes the No. 2 spot with 20.0 million, and Affirm comes in third with 14.0 million.

They’re looking for work-life flexibility and better pay. But economic skittishness, dried up funding, and crypto instability point to a rocky future.

Super apps in Asia, such as WeChat, Alipay, and mobile messaging app Line, have dominated ecommerce and online services in the region for years. Now, some Western apps are trying to build their own super apps by creating marketplaces next to their core financial, social, or delivery services. Most of these apps use a combination of monetization methods, including commissions and ad serving.

These deals could help both firms sustain business as recession fears, higher competition, and looming BNPL regulation threaten growth.

On today's episode, we discuss whether connected TV (CTV) ads are living up to the hype, what to make of the Twitter deal being put on hold, what Facebook's retirement plan may be, where Big Tech goes from here, the impact of Klarna's new "Virtual Shopping" service, an unpopular opinion about market cap, some stats about American travelers, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our director of forecasting Oscar Orozco and analysts Paul Verna and Blake Droesch.

The new offering connects online shoppers with in-store retail associates and can help attract merchants to Klarna.

The super app model is moving to the West and will upend how consumers interact with financial services. Banks must start preparing now to make the changing tide work to their advantage.

As buy now, pay later becomes a common consumer practice, Klarna has its sights set on expanding its services beyond online commerce. Hear from Klarna’s CMO about how its payment platform has turned into a growth partner for merchants and retailers.

Hear how Amazon is changing how we think about payments. For "In Other News," we discuss Visa and Mastercard suspending their services in Russia and what Klarna's losses mean for the company. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst David Morris.

Insider Intelligence spoke with David Sykes, head of Klarna’s North America division.

Despite losses surging more than 300%, Klarna’s gross merchandise volume grew 42% YoY, and it hit 147 million active consumers.