Europe’s fintech major Klarna seeks to raise $1 billion at lower valuation: report

Swedish Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) giant Klarna is looking to raise about $1 billion from investors at a $30 billion valuation — a 30% drop from its current value, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Klarna had become Europe’s most valuable fintech startup last year after Softbank's Vision Fund 2 led a funding round, ascribing it a valuation of $45.6 billion.

The company was previously in talks with investors to raise money at a valuation of $50 billion but saw some investors backtrack owing to volatile market conditions and a funding slowdown.


BNPL companies have been facing intense competition from traditional lenders and firms like PayPal lately. While regulators are also ramping up the pressure, with the UK government last year saying it would start regulating BNPL products to protect consumers.

Klarna makes money by charging merchants who use its services. The company processed transactions worth $80 billion last year, up from 42% in 2020.