Fintech Klarna raises $639 million

Global payments provider Klarna announced a new equity funding of $639 million led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 21, at a post-money valuation of $45.6 billion.

Additional investors include Adit Ventures, Honeycomb Asset Management, WestCap Group, Sequoia Capital, SilverLake, Dragoneer, Permira, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bestseller Group, Ant Group, Northzone, GIC – Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund – as well as funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and HMI.

The Swedish company operates in the space of buy-now-pay-later which lets people finance their shopping purchases interest-free over a period of monthly installments. In turn, it may collect money from retailers or charge consumers a fee on longer-term financing (6-36 months).

“Buy now, pay later is an alternative to credit and gives you the flexibility to shop what you want, when you want, without breaking the bank. When you split the cost of your purchase into 4 smaller payments with Klarna, you’ll never pay any interest. Ever.”

Klarna is available direct to consumers via the company’s shopping app, used by 18 million customers worldwide as well as at over 250,000 retailers globally. In the app, consumers can browse and shop at any brand online with Klarna payment options, allowing them to pay immediately or later, manage spending and available balances, add favorite items to collections, initiate refunds, access tailored discounts, receive price-drop notifications, track deliveries intelligently and join Klarna’s loyalty program, Vibe.