Klarna, the Sweden-based online lending provider that’s woven its way into the checkout pages of many online merchants in the U.S. and Europe, is changing its name to Klarna Bank, according to reports.
The rebranding is part of a series of recent moves in its market underscoring the rising popularity of instant or installment financing providers integrating their services with major payment providers, which observers say could put pressure on banks to rethink their services.
Zibby, a New York-based provider of lease-to-own financing on a rising number of e-commerce websites, announced a $13.5 million investment led by CURO and MissionOG on Wednesday, bringing its total capital raised to more than $150 million. Zibby targets subprime and “near-prime” consumers with weak credit, offering a monthly payment option for electronics and the rapidly growing bed-in-a-box e-commerce trend typified by merchants like GhostBed.
On the same day, Holland-based international payments provider PayU announced a partnership with Poland-based lending firm iwoca to provide online financing for small and midsize businesses.
“Our cooperation with such a significant partner as PayU will hopefully mean entrepreneurs will find it easier to obtain quick financing exactly when they need it most," Mariusz Zabrocki, iwoca Poland’s managing director, said in a press release.
Blispay, another provider of instant financing for e-commerce merchants, on Tuesday announced $12 million in new financing.
