What is Klarna's role in the digital payments transformation?
Klarna is a payments network turning itself into a digital bank, spreading from online checkout into stores, wallets and AI surfaces. It facilitated $128 billion of gross merchandise volume in 2025, up 21%, for 118 million active consumers and about 966 thousand merchants in 26 countries, per its FY2025 20-F. In the second quarter of 2026 GMV was $36.6 billion, up 18%, from 120 million active consumers and more than 1.2 million merchants. The Klarna Card reached 6.5 million active users across 16 countries in Q2 2026, up from 1.3 million a year earlier, and in the US 25% of card volume was in-store in Q4 2025. Distribution runs through payment service providers: J.P. Morgan Payments went live on August 6, 2026, alongside Stripe and Nexi. Klarna launched KlarnaUSD, a stablecoin on Tempo, in November 2025, live only on a testnet with mainnet planned for 2026. Balances stay small: $124 per active consumer in 2025. AI ties in at checkout, where Klarna underwrites every transaction in real time, and in its push into Google's Gemini app and ChatGPT.[1][2][3][4][5]
Data as of Oct 19, 2026 · Klarna profile updated Oct 19, 2026 · 15 sources cited on this page · 52 fintechs profiled on this site · Markdown
How much does Klarna's network carry, and how fast is it growing?
From Klarna's IPO prospectus (Form 424B4), FY2025 20-F and quarterly earnings releases filed on Form 6-K. Like-for-like (LfL) growth is Klarna's non-IFRS measure.
| Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Gross merchandise volume (GMV) | $112 billion | 12 months to June 30, 2025[6] |
| Gross merchandise volume (GMV) | $128 billion, up $22.8 billion or 21% (20% like-for-like) | 2025[1] |
| GMV by quarter | $38.7 billion, up 32% (Q4 2025); $33.7 billion, up 33% (Q1 2026); $36.6 billion, up 18% (Q2 2026) | Q4 2025–Q2 2026[3][7][2] |
| US GMV | $7.1 billion, up 39% (Q1 2026); $7.9 billion, up 27%, 22% of GMV (Q2 2026) | 2026[7][2] |
| Active consumers | 111 million (June 30, 2025); 118 million (December 31, 2025); 120 million (Q2 2026) | 2025–2026[6][1][2] |
| Merchants | Approximately 790,000 (June 30, 2025); approximately 966 thousand (December 31, 2025); 1,208 thousand, up 54% (Q2 2026) | 2025–2026[6][1][2] |
| Transactions per day | Approximately 3.0 million (12 months to June 30, 2025); approximately 3.4 million (2025) | 2025[6][1] |
| GMV by product | Pay Later 77% of GMV; Fair Financing $4.7 billion, 13%, up 82%; Pay in Full $3.6 billion, 10% | Q2 2026[2] |
| Balance and duration | Average balance per active consumer $124; weighted average life approximately 39 days | 2025[1] |
| Deposit funding | $11.7 billion of customer deposits, 88% of funding | June 30, 2026[2] |
| 2026 GMV guidance | Revised to $149–151 billion, from above $155 billion, citing currency and softer European volumes | August 18, 2026[2] |
How is the way people pay with Klarna changing?
| Shift | What Klarna reports | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Klarna Card | 4.2 million active users and 15% of total transactions (Q4 2025); 5 million across 16 countries (Q1 2026); 6.5 million, up from 1.3 million a year earlier (Q2 2026) | 2025–2026[3][7][2] |
| In-store spending | In the US, 25% of Klarna Card volume happened in-store | Q4 2025[3] |
| Mobile wallets | Klarna Card added to Apple Pay in Sweden (December 2018) and Google Pay (March 2019); Klarna's payment options available wherever Apple Pay or Google Pay is accepted online in the US, and Apple Pay in the UK, without the card | 2018–2025[8][9][6] |
| Market penetration | Approximately 85% of adults in Sweden were active Klarna consumers, by Klarna's estimate | December 31, 2025[1] |
| Subscriptions | Klarna Memberships reached 2 million paying subscribers, eight times a year earlier | Q2 2026[2] |
| Device leasing | Klarna is the leasing provider behind Apple Upgrade for iPhone, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch in the US | July 28, 2026[10] |
Which channels and rails does Klarna use beyond its own checkout?
| Channel | Klarna's role | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Payment service providers | PSP partners collectively process over $9 trillion a year (Q1 2026); live and ramping with J.P. Morgan Payments, Stripe and Nexi, with Adyen, Fiserv's Clover, Worldline and Worldpay expected ahead of peak season (Q2 2026) | 2026[7][2] |
| J.P. Morgan Payments | Live in the US: merchants on its Commerce Platform can offer pay in full, interest-free installments and longer-term financing with no integration; J.P. Morgan Payments processes $2.6 trillion of merchant payments a year | August 6, 2026[4] |
| KlarnaUSD stablecoin | Klarna's first stablecoin, built on Bridge's Open Issuance and to launch on Tempo's mainnet in 2026; live on testnet and not publicly available at launch | November 25, 2025[5] |
| US bank charter | Application to form Klarna Bank USA, an FDIC-insured Utah industrial bank; Klarna says it would serve the 30 million US consumers already in its network | July–August 2026[11][2] |
| AI surfaces | Flexible payments coming to Google Search and the Gemini app within Google Pay; Shopping Search app live in ChatGPT | May 2026[12][13] |
How does Klarna frame the shift, where does AI come in, and what is not disclosed?
Klarna's Q4 2025 CEO letter described a plan to "acquire consumers through seamless payments, then deepen those relationships by offering banking services"; consumers using its financial services beyond payments grew 101% to 15.8 million and generated $107 in revenue per user.[3]
AI sits at two points in the shift. Klarna underwrites every transaction in real time with ML-based credit models, which is what lets one checkout button serve debit, pay-later and financing. And its Q2 2026 release says that with Google Search, Gemini and ChatGPT it is putting its product dataset and payments inside large AI surfaces, adding that traffic from AI platforms to retailers grew sharply last holiday season and converts at higher rates.[1][2]
What is not disclosed: volume routed through each PSP partner, Klarna Card spending in dollars, any KlarnaUSD volume, and the share of GMV that starts in an AI assistant. GMV and growth are Klarna's reported figures; like-for-like growth is a non-IFRS measure.[2][5]
What does the Klarna profile record on this topic?
The rows below are the entries of the Klarna AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Oct 19, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 11 dated moves, 7 use cases and 15 sources.
| Date | Move | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2026 | Q2 2026 results point to AI shopping surfaces | GMV reached $36.6 billion (up 18% year over year), total revenue $1,042 million (up 27%), transaction margin dollars $446 million (up 42%), with net income of $9 million; the earnings release cites the AI-powered Shopping Search app live in ChatGPT and flexible payments coming to Google Search and the Gemini app. | [2] |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Klarna applies for a US industrial-bank charter | Klarna filed with the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC to form Klarna Bank USA, an FDIC-insured Utah industrial bank, to fund loans with deposits and bring more payments, lending and merchant operations in-house. | [11] |
| May 20, 2026 | Klarna Shopping Search launches inside ChatGPT | A dedicated app in ChatGPT, built on Klarna's Product Search MCP server, lets users get curated, priced product results from more than 100 million products and 400 million merchant listings across 13 markets, directly inside a ChatGPT conversation. By July 1, 2026 Klarna said the PriceRunner-powered database behind the app covered 100 million+ products and 500 million+ merchant listings. | [13][14] |
| Sep 10, 2025 | Klarna lists on the NYSE | Klarna Group plc priced its IPO at $40 per ordinary share (above the expected range), raising about $1.37 billion; shares opened at $52 and closed the first day at $45.82, up 15%, valuing the company at roughly $17.3 billion, trading as 'KLAR.' | [15][6] |
How much volume does Klarna process?
Klarna facilitated $128 billion of gross merchandise volume in 2025, up 21% (20% like-for-like), per its FY2025 20-F. In the second quarter of 2026 GMV was $36.6 billion, up 18%, and in August 2026 Klarna revised its full-year 2026 GMV guidance to $149–151 billion.
How many people use the Klarna Card?
Klarna reported 6.5 million active Klarna Card users across 16 countries in Q2 2026, up from 1.3 million a year earlier and 4.2 million in Q4 2025. In Q4 2025 the card accounted for 15% of Klarna's total transactions, and 25% of US card volume happened in-store.
Does Klarna have a stablecoin?
Klarna announced KlarnaUSD on November 25, 2025, its first stablecoin, built on Bridge's Open Issuance platform and planned to launch on Tempo's mainnet in 2026. At announcement it was live only on Tempo's testnet and not publicly available or traded.
How do merchants get Klarna at checkout?
Increasingly through payment service providers. Klarna says it is live and ramping with J.P. Morgan Payments, Stripe and Nexi, with Adyen, Fiserv's Clover, Worldline and Worldpay expected ahead of the 2026 peak season. J.P. Morgan Payments went live on August 6, 2026 with no merchant integration required.
Where does AI fit in Klarna's digital payments shift?
At checkout, Klarna's ML-based models underwrite every transaction in real time, per its 20-F. In 2026 it is also taking payments into AI surfaces: flexible payments in Google Search and the Gemini app via Google Pay, and a Shopping Search app in ChatGPT.
- Klarna Group plc Annual Report (Form 20-F) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Klarna Q2'26 Earnings Release (Exhibit 99.2 to Form 6-K)
- Klarna Fourth Quarter 2025 Results (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 6-K)
- Klarna goes live with J.P. Morgan Payments, opening flexible checkout to U.S. merchants
- Klarna launches KlarnaUSD as stablecoin transactions hit $27 trillion annually
- Klarna Group plc Prospectus (Form 424B4)
- Klarna First Quarter 2026 Results (Exhibit 99.2 to Form 6-K)
- Apple Pay Coming to Klarna's users
- Google Pay now live for Klarna users
- Klarna to power Apple Upgrade, a new hardware leasing program offered by Apple (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 6-K)
- Klarna seeks U.S. bank charter in latest push beyond buy now, pay later
- Klarna's flexible payments are coming to Google Search and the Gemini app within Google Pay
- Klarna launches ChatGPT shopping app with live prices
- Klarna has received a favorable ruling in PriceRunner litigation (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 6-K)
- Klarna stock jumps 15% in NYSE debut after pricing IPO above range
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