Klarna’s business model revolves around supplying consumers with zero-interest loans to buy goods, an arrangement known as buy-now-pay-later, or BNPL. The Swedish firm earns money primarily by charging merchants a small fee to offer its services, and acquires capital via a banking arm that accepts deposits and issues bonds. Its partnership with Coinbase will let institutional investors front capital denominated in stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar.
“Stablecoin connects us to an entirely new class of institutional investors,” said Niclas Neglén, Klarna’s CFO, in a statement.
Klarna’s crypto integrations come as more fintechs and banks dabble in stablecoins, which proponents say are a faster and cheaper means to send and receive money than existing financial rails.
