The buy now, pay later fintech company Klarna wants to become a real bank.
The Swedish company just announced its plans to establish a U.S.-based subsidiary known as Klarna Bank USA. If approved, the FDIC-backed bank would set up shop out of Utah.
“Banking is built on trust,” Klarna CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in the announcement. “We’ve seen firsthand the appetite for a fairer, more transparent approach in the U.S., and our own banking license is the natural next step.”
With a proper bank, Klarna says it can give users tools to “borrow responsibly” and build their financial confidence, while injecting more competition and innovation into the banking sector. The company named Gary Harding, former CEO of Milestone Bank and Prime Alliance Bank as its future chief executive.
Klarna has more than 119 million global active users and over three million transactions per day, according to its most recent estimates. Its major retail partners include H&M, Saks, Sephora, Macy’s, Ikea, Expedia Group, Nike, Uber, and Airbnb. In Europe, the fintech company already operates as a fully licensed bank with broader lending and banking options than its current product in the U.S. Since Klarna’s IPO in late 2025, its shares have dropped about half of their value.
Klarna eyes the future
The pay-later giant has been all-in on AI, slashing its workforce and subbing in automated systems for human employees. In February, Klarna said it employed around 3,000 workers – down from 7,000 four years prior — and planned to reduce that number by another third in the coming years. In spite of its bullish view of AI, Klarna backtracked on some of those changes after customer satisfaction took a hit – a lesson more than a few companies have been learning lately.
Klarna is just the latest fintech upstart looking to get into the traditional banking game. As the Trump administration relaxes historically strict regulations governing the banking industry, upstarts from the crypto and tech world have flooded in, seeking the many perks of a bank charter. The startup-focused fintech Mercury is in the process, as are dozens of other untraditional companies that have applied to become banks lately. That list includes Klarna’s pay later competitor Affirm, Paypal, crypto firm Ripple, and even automakers like Ford, GM, and Stellantis.
