Klarna hits partner milestone as it celebrates first birthday

Buy now pay later company Klarna has reached a major milestone, signing up 950 retail partners in Ireland as it marks its first birthday here.

The Swedish global retail bank, payments and shopping service counts Adidas, Net-a-Porter and Wayfair among its partners.

Klarna has been used by more than 500,000 customers in the Republic of Ireland, offering a range of services that include splitting purchases into three interest-free payments, the ability to store loyalty cards in the Klarna app, and virtual shopping that links shoppers with in-store experts for product advice.

“Since launching Klarna in Ireland last year, demand from Irish shoppers has only continued to grow. It has been fantastic to witness the support for Klarna on the Emerald Isle and to partner with more and more retailers who want to empower their customers to make the right purchases for them,” said Colin Creagh, head of Klarna Ireland.

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However, Klarna has not been immune to the impact of the global macroeconomic instability. Once Europe’s most valuable start-up, the company’s valuation was slashed to $6.7 billion from $45.6 billion as part of a fundraising round In July, and losses tripled in the first half of the year.

It has also been forced to cut its staff globally, announcing two rounds of layoffs earlier this year. An initial cut of 10 per cent of staff in May – around 700 people – was followed up by the decision in September to restructure parts of its business further as it targeted slower growth and a smaller operation.