Klarna wants to be a real American bank. The Swedish BNPL giant has applied for a US banking licence, betting a friendlier Washington will let it crack a market that has bruised European rivals.
Klarna has applied to US regulators to set up its own bank, tech.eu reports. The Swedish fintech filed with the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to launch Klarna Bank USA, an FDIC-insured institution. If approved, a former Milestone Bank chief, Gary Harding, would run it, according to CNBC.
From BNPL to full bank
Klarna already holds a European banking licence, which its finance chief once called one of its biggest advantages. In the US, it has leaned on partner banks instead. It recently launched high-yield savings there, but WebBank, not Klarna, holds the deposits. A US charter would change that.
Owning a bank lets Klarna fund loans with customer deposits rather than pricier wholesale money. It could offer checking accounts and credit cards directly, and pull payments, lending and merchant services in-house. The prize is a cheaper, more self-reliant American business.
A crowded race for charters
Klarna is not alone. Revolut applied for a US charter in March, and Dutch challenger Bunq refiled this year. The fintech Mercury won conditional approval in April. Owning a charter, once a chore fintechs avoided, now looks like an edge.
The timing matters. The US banking market has long resisted European entrants, and Klarna frames the Trump administration as more open to newcomers. “Banking is built on trust,” said co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski. He called an own licence “the natural next step.”
Why it matters
Klarna has gone big in America. It claims more than 30 million US customers, a US debit card, and over $93bn in credit extended. Yet the ground is not entirely friendly. Monzo quit the US to focus on Europe, and Klarna's own shares trade near half their September IPO price.
A banking licence would deepen its American bet at a moment when investors want discipline. For now, Klarna has filed the papers. Regulators, and trust, will decide the rest.