Klarna Launches Tap-to-Pay Offering in Europe

Digital bank/pay-later provider Klarna is launching a new tap-to-pay feature.

The new contactless payment offering is rolling out in 14 European markets, the Swedish FinTech announced in a Tuesday (Dec. 2) news release.

“With more than 80% of European shopping still happening in physical stores, Tap to Pay brings consumers the ease of online shopping into the bricks and mortar stores,” the release said. “Instead of hunting for cards or juggling apps, everything sits in one place — the Klarna app — making every purchase smoother from start to finish.”

According to the release, the tap-to-pay offering lets consumers set up flexible payment plans and pay with a tap, in a single place and without needing to add their card to another digital wallet or switch apps at checkout.

It follows the recent launch of the debit-first Klarna Card, which the company says is used by more than 4 million consumers.

“Tap to Pay brings us closer to our vision of Klarna being everywhere for everything. Now you can set up a flexible payment plan and tap to pay in seconds, all inside the Klarna app,” said David Fock, Klarna’s chief product and design officer.

Klarna is launching the new service in an environment where consumers have come to automatically expect smooth, hassle-free digital experiences while shopping.

Contactless transactions, backed by innovations like mobile wallets, tap-on-mobile and open-loop transit payments, are becoming the expected go-to payment method. For younger consumers used to digital convenience, the ability to pay anytime, anywhere with a single tap has moved from being a luxury to an expectation.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last month about Klarna’s first earnings call since becoming a publicly-traded company.

During that call, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said the company’s goal is to be “available everywhere Visa is” while developing fuller banking capabilities.

“A lot of you will be familiar with buy now, pay later, but we do offer a number of other services like searching for products at the right price, making sure that it’s easy to pay your bills and manage your finances, to show you where your packages are in real time so you can go and pick them up, and give you control and insights of your spending habits,” he said.