Latest news with #DavidSandstrom
Finextra
5 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Visa announces key partnerships with Klarna, Zilch to launch flexible debit cards
At Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam, Visa announced plans to launch a pilot for FDIC-insured debit card with Klarna, and roll out Zilch's first physical card. 0 This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. At Money20/20 Europe, David Sandstrom, chief marketing officer at Klarna, and Mathieu Altwegg, SVP product and solutions for Visa Europe, spoke on the innovative partnership. Sandstrom explained the purpose of the new card: 'It enables people to use Klarna on a piece of plastic everywhere, online and in-person. But it's also a product proposition that resonates well with people who, to some extent, fear the traditional credit cards and revolving credit where everything is put on that credit bill.' He stated that the card will allow users to make a purchase as usual with a card at checkout and it will be integrated into the Klarna ecosystem, that will allow them to choose their payment options, such as Pay in 4 and Pay Later. 'It enables the smart, flexible payments and BNPL features of Klarna, powered by the advanced technologies of Visa. That means that we'll get to see the perfect mix for people using it on an everyday basis, for everyday purchases, when needed,' Sandstrom said. Altwegg added that the card is consumer-centric and can be used across the Visa network of over 150 million merchants. He detailed: 'If the consumer wants to pay now, if they want to pay later, if they want to pay in installments, if they want to pay with multiple currencies, or if they want to be with their favorite currency or loyalty points, all of that is enabled on a single platform. Ultimately, the consumers want to make responsible choices when it comes to managing their finance and their everyday lives, and you can also see how the proposition can typically evolve over their life stages.' The card is being rolled out in the US, where there are already five million consumers on the waitlist to access it. Sandstrom added that the card will appeal to the 100 million Klarna users who are looking for flexible, accessible payments. Zilch offers Visa-backed flexible payments card In the panel session 'From disruption to integration: What's driving the new financial order?', co-founder and CEO of Zilch, Phillip Bellamant, announced their partnership with Visa to release Zilch's first physical card, emphasising the innovative flexibility behind the card and partnering with 'the original fintech'. Ballamant statedthat Zilch has 5 million customers, growing by around 100,000 a month, and explained the versatility of the new model: 'These cards used to be a credit card, a debit card, a prepaid card, a charge card - that doesn't exist anymore, and Visa has been leading the way in some of this. Credentials, in other words, this just identifies who you are. Through our app, you can choose whether that's a debit, credit, or deferred debit transaction. You could do it before. You can do that after. You can change your mind. What we weave into this then is the ad engine that allows you to get all of the benefit of that ad revenue we generate each and every time you swipe.' Lucy Demery, senior vice president of commercial solutions in Europe at Visa, stated that there has been massive progress in the industry in the last year, citing that 69% of listed fintechs are profitable. Demery highlighted how Zilch is the fastest growing unicorn in EMEA, and that as an industry we are in a new stage of convergence of traditional financial institutions and fintech that is primed to take on greater challenges. Demery added: 'We're also looking to open up Visa as more of a Visa-as-a-service, so giving our partners access to our capabilities, our network, our rails, but also our data and analytics and software, and put it at their disposal. It's more of an open ecosystem.'
CNET
5 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Klarna Launches New BNLP Debit Card That Lets You Finance on the Fly -- but There's a Catch
CNET/Getty Images Klarna, a financial service best known for its buy now, pay later (BNLP) app, just announced it's launching a new debit card with BNPL features. "We consistently hear from consumers that they want the freedom to choose how and when to pay -- whether that's paying now with debit or spreading the cost over time," David Sandstrom, chief marketing officer at Klarna, said in the press release. This isn't the BNPL service's first foray into the cards territory. Klarna launched the Klarna Credit Card, a no-annual-fee card that works more like a charge card in 2022 and issued a US version in 2024. With its new debit card offering, users will be able to load funds onto the card and use it like a debit card, or access a Buy Now, Pay Later plan. BNPL plans are typically popular as an alternative to credit cards, but the Klarna Card seems to be combining debit, credit and payment plans into a single card. The company said in the press release that it's currently testing the product in the US with plans for a wider rollout in the US and Europe later this year. Here's what we know about it so far. How the Klarna debit card works The new product will offer a mix features similar to that of both a credit card and a debit card. You can load funds onto the Klarna Card and use it like you would a standard debit card, but you're able to select if you want to finance a purchase at the point of sale by using either Klarna's Pay in 4 or Pay Later plan. Klarna told CNET that there will be a $1 to $3 charge for using Pay in 4 which will be added to your down payment. If you're going to use BNPL, I'd recommend not opting for the Pay in 4 option with the Klarna card, since others like Afterpay, Affirm and even Klarna itself don't charge you money to initiate a BNPL installment plan that's paid off in four payments. Anyone can be approved for the Klarna Card and use it as a debit card without any credit check required. However, if you want to finance a purchase with a BNPL plan, you'll undergo a soft credit check at the time of purchase. That may cause a slowdown at the register, but we'll see. Klarna also confirmed your activity won't be reported to credit bureaus at this time. The Klarna Card will also work on Visa's Flexible Credential program, which allows you to save multiple forms of payment behind one credential, locked with your biometric. It acts like a payment hub with all of your eligible payment methods. Are Klarna's cash back rewards worth it? Once the card is fully released, it will offer a free tier and two paid tiers, according to the press release. The paid tiers -- Member and Plus -- will cost $3.49 and $7.99 monthly respectively, and will include merchant discounts and cash-back rewards. Member 2.82% APY on Klarna balance. 1% cash back when you pay in full with your Klarna balance. 2x rewards on Pay-in-4 at non-integrated partners. Plus 3.22% APY on Klarna balance. 2% cash back when you pay in full with your Klarna balance. 10x rewards on Pay-in-4 at non-integrated partners. If you're after cash-back rewards, you don't have to pay for them. Many credit cards offer cash-back rewards for free -- as long as you pay your bill in full each month -- and some debit cards like the Discover Cashback Debit card also come with rewards for no monthly fee. However, depending on the cash-back rate, the tier's fees might wipe out any value you'd get from them. It's nice that Klarna lets you earn a fairly competitive APY on your balance -- the 3.22% APY the Plus tier offers is similar to many top high-yield savings accounts right now -- but having to pay $7.99 a month for this APY is a steep price. For reference, if you deposited $250 a month into your Klarna account and didn't spend it, you'd have $3,000 at the end of the year. You'd earn approximately $44 in interest (depending on how often it's compounded), but you'd have paid nearly $96 a year for this card. How to sign up for the Klarna debit card The company is currently trialing the Klarna debit card in the US. Once it's fully available, Klarna confirmed that you'll be able to sign up to use it immediately and won't be added to a wait list.
CNET
5 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Klarna Launches New BNPL Debit Card That Lets You Finance on the Fly – but There's a Catch
CNET/Getty Images Klarna, a financial service best known for its Buy Now, Pay Later app, just announced it's launching a new debit card with BNPL features. "We consistently hear from consumers that they want the freedom to choose how and when to pay -- whether that's paying now with debit or spreading the cost over time," David Sandstrom, chief marketing officer at Klarna, said in the press release. This isn't the BNPL service's first foray into the cards territory. Klarna launched the Klarna Credit Card, a no-annual-fee card that works more like a charge card in 2022 and issued a US version in 2024. With its new debit card offering, users will be able to load funds onto the card and use it like a debit card, or access a Buy Now, Pay Later plan. BNPL plans are typically popular as an alternative to credit cards, but the Klarna Card seems to be combining debit, credit and payment plans into a single card. The company said in the press release that it's currently testing the product in the US with plans for a wider rollout in the US and Europe later this year. Here's what we know so far about it. How the Klarna debit card works The new product will offer a mix features of both a credit card and a debit card. You can load funds onto the Klarna Card and use it like you would a standard debit card, but you're able to select if you want to finance a purchase at the point of sale by using either Klarna's Pay in 4 or Pay Later plan. Klarna told CNET that there will be a $1-$3 charge for using Pay in 4 which will be added to your down payment. If you're going to use BNPL, I'd recommend not opting for the Pay in 4 option with the Klarna card, since others like Afterpay, Affirm and Klarna itself don't charge you money to initiate a BNPL installment plan that's paid off in four payments. Anyone can be approved for the Klarna Card and use it as a debit card without any credit check required. However, if you want to finance a purchase with a BNPL plan, you'll undergo a soft credit check at the time of purchase. That may cause a slowdown at the register, but we'll see. Klarna also confirmed your activity won't be reported to credit bureaus at this time. The Klarna Card will also work on Visa's Flexible Credential program, which allows you to save multiple forms of payment behind one credential, locked with your biometric. It acts like a payment hub with all of your eligible payment methods. Are Klarna's cash back rewards worth it? Once the card is fully released, it will offer a free tier and two paid tiers, according to the press release. The paid tiers -- Member and Plus -- will cost $3.49 and $7.99 monthly, respectively, and will include merchant discounts and cash-back rewards. Member 2.82% APY on Klarna balance 1% cash back when you pay in full with your Klarna balance 2x rewards on Pay-in-4 at non-integrated partners Plus 3.22% APY on Klarna balance 2% cash back when you pay in full with your Klarna balance 10x rewards on Pay-in-4 at non-integrated partners If you're after cash-back rewards, you don't have to pay for them. Many credit cards offer cash-back rewards for free -- as long as you pay your bill in full each month -- and some debit cards like the Discover Cashback Debit card also come with rewards for no monthly fee. Depending on the cash-back rate, the tier's fees might even wipe out any value you'd get from them. It's nice that Klarna lets you earn a fairly competitive APY on your balance -- the 3.22% APY the Plus tier offers is similar to many top high-yield savings accounts right now -- but having to pay $7.99 a month for this APY is a steep price. For reference, if you deposited $250 a month into your Klarna account and didn't spend it, you'd have $3,000 at the end of the year. You'd earn approximately $44 in interest (depending on how often it's compounded). But you'd have paid nearly $96 a year for this card. How to sign up for the Klarna debit card The company is currently trialing the Klarna debit card in the US. Once it's fully available, Klarna confirmed that you'll be able to sign up to use it immediately and won't be added to a wait list.
CNET
5 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Klarna Has a New BNPL Debit Card That Seems Like a Credit Card. Is It Worth Getting?
CNET/Getty Images Klarna, a financial service best known for its Buy Now, Pay Later app, just announced it's launching a new debit card with BNPL features. "We consistently hear from consumers that they want the freedom to choose how and when to pay -- whether that's paying now with debit or spreading the cost over time," David Sandstrom, chief marketing officer at Klarna, said in the press release. Klarna launched the Klarna Credit Card, a no-annual-fee card that works more like a charge card in 2022. It's available in other countries, and a US version was announced in 2024. However, it's waitlisted for now. With its new debit card offering, users will be able to load funds onto the card and use it like a debit card, or access a Buy Now, Pay Later plan. BNPL plans are typically popular as an alternative to credit cards, but the Klarna Card seems to be combining debit, credit and payment plans into a single card. Klarna didn't immediately respond to our questions about which purchase types can be financed and the type of interest charged. We'll update this story as we get more information. The company said in the press release that it's currently testing the product in the US with plans for a wider rollout in the US and Europe later this year. Here's what we know so far about it. How the Klarna Card works The new product appears to mix features of both a credit card and a debit card. You can load funds onto the Klarna Card and use it like you would a standard debit card, but you're able to select if you want to finance a purchase at the point of sale by using either Klarna's Pay in 4 or Pay Later plan. Klarna told CNET that there will be a $1-$3 charge for using Pay in 4 which will be added to your down payment. If you're going to use BNPL, I'd recommend not opting for the Pay in 4 option with the Klarna card, since others like Afterpay, Affirm and Klarna itself don't charge you money to initiate a BNPL installment plan that's paid off in four payments. Once the card is fully released, it will offer a free tier and two paid tiers, according to the press release. The paid tiers -- Member and Plus -- will cost $3.49 and $7.99 monthly, respectively, and may include merchant discounts and cashback rewards. If you're after cashback rewards, you don't have to pay for them. Many credit cards offer cashback rewards for free -- as long as you pay your bill in full each month -- and some debit cards like the Discover Cashback Debit card also come with rewards for no monthly fee. Depending on the cash back rate, the tier's fees might even wipe out any value you'd get from them. Anyone can be approved for the Klarna Card and use it as a debit card without any credit check required. However, if you want to finance a purchase with a BNPL plan, you'll undergo a soft credit check at the time of purchase. That may cause a slowdown at the register, but we'll see. The Klarna Card will also work on Visa's Flexible Credential program, which allows you to save multiple forms of payment behind one credential, locked with your biometric. It acts like a payment hub with all of your eligible payment methods.
