Klarna scores global payment deal with Stripe ahead of blockbuster IPO [Video]

Klarna has agreed a major new distribution partnership with fellow fintech unicorn Stripe, in a bid to expand reach and add more merchants in the lead-up to its upcoming listing in the U.S.

The Swedish firm’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) service will become available as a payment option for merchants using Stripe’s payment tools in 26 countries, the two companies told CNBC Tuesday.

This isn’t the first time Klarna and Stripe, which is dual-headquartered in San Francisco, have partnered. In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic-fueled fintech craze, Stripe announced Klarna would offer its BNPL plans to the firm’s merchants — but in a more limited capacity.

The new deal comes with improve functionality for Stripe merchants, including the ability to A/B test Klarna and measure real-time conversion rates. It comes after Klarna last year offloaded its own …