Klarna To Invest $100M Into U.S. Expansion


    Klarna has been one of the biggest success stories from the region for a while yet. Rightfully so, as the company has revenues of over €178 million a year (2013) and has total funding of close to €250 million. The latest being in March this year from Institutional Venture Partners (IVP),Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic and Atomico.

    Today, they claim to be the largest payments company in Europe and have just announced the plan to invest at least $100 million into its U.S. expansion, setting up base in Columbus, Ohio.

    “Columbus is at the heart of U.S. e-commerce activity and is the perfect launch pad for our expansion,” said Brian Billingsley, chief executive officer, Klarna North America.

    Basically, Klarna takes the risk of e-commerce and online payment transactions. The consumer does not need a credit card or any payment information. They simply enter their basic info like an e-mail, address and a zip code and click pay. Klarna pays the merchant and sends the invoice to the client. Simple.

    In Europe, they operate in 15 markets with more than 25 million users and 45 000 retailers. So it will be interesting to see what they can achieve in the US. The company states that they do not currently need any further funding for the expansion.