DUBLIN, IRELAND — Klarna, the global retail bank, payments, and shopping service with 90 million users globally, officially launches in Ireland today, empowering Irish consumers with a better shopping experience and greater control, transparency, and choice over how they pay. Irish consumers will be able to shop online and split their purchases into three interest-free equal payments (‘Pay in 3’) through both the Klarna app and directly via integrated partner retailers.
Klarna’s launch of an interest-free and fee-free alternative to high-cost credit comes as Irish consumers shift away from credit cards towards debit for most of their day-to-day spend. Spending on debit cards grew three times faster than credit cards between 2015 and 20201.
In the Klarna app, Irish consumers will be able to ‘Pay in 3’ at any online store, regardless of whether they are a Klarna retailer or not, thanks to the innovative ‘Shop Anywhere’ function.
Similarly, consumers who use Klarna at a partner retailer’s online checkout will be able to split their purchases interest-free. With a range of domestic and international retailers including Gym + Coffee, Perspective, Yummie, Cult Beauty, Greene’s Shoes, Luna by Lisa, and Yours Clothing all teaming up with Klarna, consumers will benefit from greater control, transparency, and choice over how they pay.
Klarna’s launch will help Irish merchants, both big and small, adapt to a shifting retail landscape enabling them to improve their customer experience in response to changing consumer preferences whilst accessing a much wider community of global consumers.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s Co-founder and CEO said, “Ireland is a really exciting market for us, as people turn away from credit cards. As the older-style financial institutions exit the market we’re here to create more competition, which is in the best interest of the consumer. At Klarna we believe that everyone deserves a better way to shop and pay, with more control, choice and flexibility. Traditional high-cost models like credit cards are built on charging interest and late fees to the rest. That’s why we offer flexible, transparent and fair payment options without charging interest or fees.”
Colin Creagh, Head of Business Development at Klarna in Ireland, adds, “We’ll be working with our Irish retailer partners to help them access a global marketplace. With coverage in 17 markets across three continents, we can accept payments from almost every country in the world, unlocking huge growth opportunities for our partners. As a key European market with a population of keen digital adopters, Ireland has long been part of our expansion strategy in our mission to offer safer, more sustainable payment options to customers around the world.”
Lee McNamara, Ecommerce Manager at Gym + Coffee commented, “We’re thrilled to partner with Klarna and offer payment options that make it easier for our consumers to purchase with confidence. This sort of flexibility, convenience, and financial control that paying with Klarna brings is the future of retail and we’re excited to be at the forefront of this shopping revolution.”
How the app works.
Through the Klarna app, people can shop anywhere online and split the payment into 3 equal monthly payments, with no interest or fees. All payments can be managed and
1 Central Bank of Ireland figures
tracked within the app, which is designed to help consumers manage their spending and payments.
The Klarna app also gives consumers:
- Wish lists, save the items you love, spark your inspiration with curated wish lists or find the hottest items from your favourite retailers. Wish lists can contain items from any retailer in the UK and can either be kept for private use, or shared with friends and family.
- Price drop notifications, consumers can set up alerts for the products they love, and only pay for them when they’re comfortable with the price, offering the best value for money on their purchases.
- Exclusively curated content from the world of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle.
Klarna carries out robust eligibility assessments on each and every transaction. Its business model is built on people paying back on time – because consumers aren’t charged interest or late fees Klarna has a strong incentive to only lend to those who can shop responsibly and meet repayments.
