Sweden's Klarna made its mark with a pay-later model for e-commerce shopping that’s spread to other European countries and the U.S., and now it’s piloting the same concept for in-store purchases.
In partnership with the Danish payments technology firm Nets, Klarna has developed a feature that appears on payment terminals at certain stores giving consumers the option to pay for a purchase later—fully or in part—before completing the transaction, Klarna said in a recent
When someone opts to “pay later by invoice” at a participating store, a terminal prompt asks for the shopper’s mobile phone number, which immediately triggers a text message asking the shopper to confirm the purchase by following a link to Klarna’s online checkout page.
The process takes seconds—whether a transaction is approved or declined—versus an average of six to 10 minutes for typical in-store financing solutions, Klarna said.
Transactions completed using the pay-later process require no exchange of financial information or details with the in-store staff, making it significantly smoother and more secure than most existing processes, according to Klarna’s post.
“This new in-store finance solution … exemplifies how payment terminals can act as a node for various services and not just to receive card payments,” said Patrick Höijer, Nets’ Sweden-based senior vice president, in the blog post.
Klarna, which officially changed its name to Klarna Bank AB in June, received a strategic investment
