The Value of Buy Now, Pay Later

Klarna struggles amid rapid industry growth, rising inflation

Andy Spears
2 min readJun 23, 2022
Photo by David Dvořáček on Unsplash

Fintech Business Weekly reports on the struggles of Klarna in the Buy Now, Pay Later landscape.

Klarna, recently worth as much as $46 billion, is considering taking funding at a valuation around $15 billion, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

The news comes less than a month after rumors that the BNPL behemoth was seeking to raise $1 billion in funding at a $30 billion valuation — highlighting the rapidly evolving environment for quickly growing but unprofitable companies seeking to raise funds.

Klarna, a pioneer in the world of BNPL, is struggling due to increased competition and rising inflation putting a strain on consumer budgets. That is, while inflation may make BNPL seem like a good idea at the point of purchase, it also means borrowers are more likely to struggle to repay loans.

Here’s more on competition in the BNPL marketplace:

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Andy Spears

Writer and policy advocate living in Nashville, TN —Public Policy Ph.D. — writes on education policy, consumer affairs, and more . . .