Klarna rolled out Klarna balance and Klarna Card in the UK. Credit cards aren’t as big a market in the UK as they are in the US, but issuers should be concerned by what Klarna calls its “balances.” Klarna is a real bank in the EU and recently was granted an Electronic Money Institution license in the UK. That means even without getting a bank charter in the UK—or the US for that matter—it can use its existing bank infrastructure to offer a robust suite of bank-like services in the style of Cash App or even Apple Wallet.

Klarna partnered with Qatar Airways, bringing installment plans to checkout for the gulf state airline in 17 European markets. The winning formula for BNPL platforms may be strategic partnerships with airlines without a branded credit card live in certain markets. Qatar holds a branded credit card offering in the US, where it likely encourages US consumers to spend on its card. European consumers, on the other hand, can’t access that credit product, giving Klarna an opportunity to fill that gap for fliers. With this vacuum, BNPL providers can reap the benefit of not having to directly compete against credit cards’ rewards packages.

Visa launched the Trusted Agent Protocol, infrastructure meant to facilitate secure communication between AI agents and merchants to complete transactions, per a press release. Fully operationalized agentic commerce will take time to get off the ground. However, Visa’s endorsement of agentic commerce demands reluctant AI-adopters to quickly gear themselves for a new age of payment facilitation, or face irrelevance. Major payment rails especially need to convince merchants not to abandon their infrastructure to pursue things like blockchain-based transactions, as major retailers like Walmart and Amazon try to save money on fees. Offering seamless agentic commerce can entice these retailers to stay loyal.

Klarna and Splitit are pursuing AI initiatives to keep their products top-of-mind for consumers, per press releases. Klarna partnered with Google Cloud to power AI-backed hyperpersonalized marketing campaigns. Splitit debuted its Agentic Commerce Partner Program, bringing card-linked buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans to agent-powered shopping. Replacing human created art with AI generated images is a risky play for marketing, but Splitit’s BNPL angle with agentic commerce may help it establish a foothold in the installment plan arena, especially when tied to shoppers’ preferred cards that they trust and earn rewards.

PayPal will make its Pay Monthly installment loans available in-store in the US ahead of the holiday season. For competing BNPL providers, PayPal’s rewards structure now far outstrips what most of them offer. Competitors should consider more strategic partnerships with desirable Gen Z and millennial brands to strike directly at the root of where young consumers are shopping, and cut deals with those merchants for more favorable cash back rewards.

AI shopping assistants are boosting discovery and personalization, but trust issues and fulfillment challenges could limit their impact on channel migration.

Bolt launched a super app, named SuperApp, that combines payments, banking, crypto trading, rewards, and shopping, per a press release. For the select few crypto-forward consumers, Bolt’s crypto reach across 40+ cryptocurrencies could be attractive but there’s not much differentiating it from fintechs that already offer crypto services, like PayPal or Cash App.

Adyen partnered with Simons, Canada’s oldest family-owned retail business. This tie-up will bring Klarna, AliPay, and WeChat to checkout. Deepening merchant partnerships help outsider or alternative finance platforms gain a foothold in new territories. Klarna has pushed tie-ups with Walmart, Bolt, and DoorDash to break into the US and Canadian markets, a formula that seems to be working as it waits for its Klarna Card to get off the ground in North America.

BNPL payment value and user growth will decelerate in the coming years as the industry matures. But BNPL providers still have a big opportunity to grow their share of retail sales.​

Klarna and Affirm will be available for in-store payments via Apple Pay in the US and the UK, per a press release. As more providers find ways to enable BNPL in store, they need to convince consumers to choose their products over card-linked installment plans, which offer the perks of paying over time with competitive rewards and cash back. Gen Zers are demonstrating a distrust of credit cards in favor of debit cards, so Affirm and Klarna could lean into their BNPL-enabled debit cards as a way of seeming like a “safer” financing choice for younger consumers. Eschewing the risks of revolving debt may be more desirable than points rewarded for Gen Zers.

Klarna Started trading on the NYSE on Wednesday under the ticker symbol KLAR. Klarna’s stock opened at $52 per share—well above anticipated levels of $35-$37 per share—and closed at $48.82. By the end of the day, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) player was valued at $17.3 billion. Klarna’s IPO outperformance signals investor hunger for major tech listings, following Circle and Figma’s standout public offerings. As Klarna moves deeper into the US BNPL market, Siemiatkowski said that different use cases between the Affirm and Klarna Cards will determine the future of each fintech player.

Walmart-linked fintech OnePay will roll out $35 wireless plans through its app on September 10. Walmart’s OnePay wireless initiative would have a better chance for significant customer adoption if the retailer didn’t already offer several phone plans: Walmart Family Mobile and Straight Talk. The challenge for the retailer moving forward will be to funnel consumers to its OnePay plans who may be existing customers on Family Mobile or Straight Talk plans, which could generate confusion. While building out this program can help to achieve the “everything app” ambitions of many fintechs, competing with standard carriers remains a tough sell: Almost 90% of US adults will keep their mobile plans with Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, per our forecast.

The news: Affirm’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew 43% YoY to $10.4 billion, per Q4 FY 2025 earnings (ended June 30). The buy now, pay later (BNPL) company reported strong numbers across the board. Revenues soared 33% YoY to $876 million. Active consumers increased 24% YoY to 23 million. Transactions per active customer grew 19% to 5.8. The number of active merchants jumped 24% to 337,000. Our take: Affirm’s dominance in the US market is propelled by powerful Affirm Card spend—we forecast Affirm will edge out Klarna in terms of US volume by $4.7 billion. If the firm can keep growing its average ticket size, it could carve out a healthy niche in the consumer credit market: purchases that are too small to jump through the hoops of securing a personal loan but too large to pay off in one month on a credit card balance.

The news: Klarna is seeking a valuation of up to $14 billion in its coming IPO, per filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The BNPL provider will list with the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KLAR. The stock price at IPO is anticipated to be between $35 and $37 per share. Our take: Klarna is hoping its IPO can capture investors’ hunger for high-growth tech stocks after a period of uncertainty. Fueled by its partnerships and card launches, Klarna is setting itself up to challenge Affirm on US BNPL spend.

The news: Buy now, pay later (BNPL) firms are exhorting the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) not to write new rules about how installment loan histories would affect federal home loan eligibility. Our take: BNPL providers are divided on whether furnishing their loan information supports or hurts their espoused mission for financial inclusion and helping consumers access credit. Affirm appeared the odd one out by offering more transparency about its consumers’ financial health. However, if HUD moves ahead with new loan eligibility rules, its customers could end up the better for it, while reporting naysayers Klarna and Afterpay will have to scramble to set up their customers for success

The news: Klarna is now available in-store at over 400 Walmart Canada locations. Canadian Walmart shoppers can scan a QR code at assisted lane checkouts to choose between Pay in Full or Pay in 4. Only purchases over CAD 50 will be eligible for Klarna’s financing. Our take: Klarna’s partnerships with Walmart in the US and Canada are major coups for the BNPL player. Affirm’s dominance stateside is driven by its strategic partnerships and strong Affirm card adoption. Klarna should continue staking out new tie-ups with major retailers and boost Klarna card use to secure a stronger presence in Canada.

US ad spend with financial media will reach over $600 millions this year, according to EMARKETER forecasts, but still represent a small fraction of the commerce media landscape. "This is a really nascent space. There aren't many players that make up this cohort of financial media networks (FMNs), and they represent a really diverse array of types of financial companies," said our analyst Sarah Marzano during a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers."

The news: Zip’s total transaction volume (TTV) spiked 30.3% YoY in fiscal 2025 (ended June 30, 2025), driven by momentum in its US business. Cash before taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBTDA) more than doubled YoY to AUD 170.3 million ($109.38 million), a 147% increase. Total transaction value hit AUD 13.1 billion ($8.42 billion). Transaction volume was up 22.1% YoY to 93 million. Net bad debts decreased YoY to 1.5% of TTV, down from 1.7% in FY24. Our take: Zip’s year-end results reflect the spending strength of US consumers. We forecast US total retail sales to hit $7.513.38 trillion for 2025. By comparison, Zip’s native Australia is only anticipated to crack $356.49 billion in total retail sales this year.

The news: Affirm will be available as a payment option for in-store shoppers on Stripe Terminal for US and Canadian merchants, per a press release. Our take: Snagging a Stripe Terminal integration is a big win for Affirm. This can help expand its lead in the US, where it holds $35.69 billion in payment value—a $4 billion dollar lead over Klarna.

The news: Klarna’s revenues jumped 20% YoY to $823 million in the latest earnings released ahead of its IPO this fall. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) spiked 19% to $31.2 billion—nearly four times the size of competitor Affirm’s $8.6 billion. Klarna’s US GMV growth is even more impressive, at 37% YoY. Our take: Klarna will have an uphill battle if it wants to dethrone Affirm as the dominant BNPL provider in the US. Given Affirm’s recent partnership with Stripe, Klarna may not be able to rely on the fintech for such rapid growth anymore—especially considering Affirm’s more direct integrations with Stripe in-store.