Klarna's Buy Now, Pay Later Service Sees Tenfold Increase Since Pandemic

CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski highlights the role of 'self-aware avoiders' and the use of AI in the company's operations.

Klarna, a Sweden-based company, is one of the world's biggest providers of buy now, pay later services, with its usage up 10-fold since the pandemic.
Klarna's CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, identifies a large group of U.S. consumers, referred to as 'self-aware avoiders', who prefer to use debit but occasionally want to use credit on single occasions, as a key demographic for the buy now, pay later service.
Merchants are gaining access to customers they may not have had access to before through the option of offering interest-free credit, leading to higher order values and increased spending.
Despite the growth of buy now, pay later as a payment method, retailers are facing a tougher macroeconomic environment, with credit card debt in the U.S. back at $1 trillion.
Klarna has been using artificial intelligence across its organization, including a software called DeepL for translations, which has led to a hiring freeze.