Since before, there has been the possibility to save money with Klarna, which also offers its customers a physical payment card with a Visa connection.
Now we get exactly what we have dreamed of, namely that Klarna will function more like a full bank solution for our customers. The first important thing is, of course, to have a positive balance, a balance simply, says Sebastian Siemiatkowski about Klarna balance.
Comparatively high interest rate
Poor competition and high profit margins among banks open up for the long-term investment, according to Siemiatkowski. To attract money from various types of salary and transaction accounts in traditional banks, Klarna will focus on a comparatively high interest rate on deposited money. At the launch, up to 3.58 percent is offered.
At the same time, Klarna is launching a new tool that can give back some of the money customers shop for – so-called "cashback". "Cashback" offers in online stores will be directly linked to Klarna's new balance accounts.
In a strict legal sense, Klarna balance is not a salary account. For example, it is not possible to receive a salary paid directly into the account.
But in principle, it will work in a similar way. You can have a positive balance and you can have your money there. But there are a few steps left before it becomes the place where you receive your salary, says Siemiatkowski.
"The absolute biggest challenge"
About 30-40 percent of all payments made today with the help of Klarna concern direct payments. The Klarna CEO believes that this proportion will increase.
Then it's extremely important to be able to have a balance with us that you can shop with online.
Siemiatkowski describes the entry barriers for new players in the banking sector as high. It is expensive, requires large technology investments, and involves high costs to meet all regulatory requirements.
You have to reach a certain size to make it work. But the absolute biggest challenge is to find customers, he says.
But in principle, every adult Swede has our app and uses us daily. So we have cleared the biggest barrier. We actually have more customers than any other bank in Sweden. Customers may have mortgages and salary accounts elsewhere, but we have the customers.
