STOCKHOLM, Sweden— Klarna reported first-quarter revenue of $1 billion, up 44% from a year earlier, as consumers increasingly turned to buy now, pay later financing for purchases ranging from groceries to larger-ticket items, according to the company.
The Swedish payments company said gross merchandise volume rose 33% year over year to $33.7 billion during the quarter. Klarna also reported:
- Active consumers increased 21% to 119 million.
- Merchant partners climbed 49% to 1.1 million.
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said during the company’s earnings call that Klarna continues to position itself as a broader payments platform beyond traditional buy now, pay later lending.
“We are still spend-centric not lend-centric,” Siemiatkowski said on the call. “Pay later means we start small with every new customer. A $100 transaction repaid in weeks. That’s how we get to know each other.”
Deposits Become Increasingly Important
According to Klarna, deposits, debit usage and point-of-sale financing are becoming increasingly important components of the company’s growth strategy as it seeks to expand its payments ecosystem.
The company said it is now live with the majority of the top 100 online retailers in the United States, where it has expanded its “fair financing” installment-loan product. Klarna executives said most consumers using the longer-duration installment financing are existing customers with established repayment histories.
Klarna’s U.S. business continued to serve as a major growth driver during the quarter. The company reported U.S. gross merchandise volume rose 39% to $7.1 billion, accounting for 21% of total company GMV. U.S. revenue increased 67% year over year to $399 million, according to Klarna.
