Klarna, about IPO, wins the Frirm Fintech association

Fintech Swedish signature Clear It will be Buy’s exclusive provider now, he will pay later loans to WalmartTaking a coveted association away from the rival SayCNBC has learned.

Of course, alone revealed His intention to make public in the USA. Will provide loans to Walmart customers in stores and online through the Startup Fintech owned by the majority of the retailer. Alternateaccording to people with knowledge of the situation that declined to be identified talking about the association.

Unpay, that updated Its brand of this month will handle the user experience through its application, while Klarna will make subscription decisions for loans ranging from three months to 36 months, and with annual interest rates from 10% to 36%, people said.

The new product will be launched in the coming weeks and will be expanded to all Walmart channels in the holiday season, which is probably left by the retail purchase now, pay the option after the end of the year.

The movement increases the rivalry between AFFIRM and Klarna, two of the world’s largest BNPL players in the world, as well as Klarna will be made public. Although both companies claim to offer a better alternative for borrowers than credit cards, AFFIRM is more focused on the United States and has been public since 2021, while the Klarna network is more global.

AFFIRM actions fell 11% in the negotiation prior to the market on Monday.

The agreement arrives at a timely man for Klarna, since it prepares one of the most anticipated initial public offers of the year. After a shortage of great technology listings in the USA since 2021, Klarna’s IPO will be a key test for the industry. Its private market assessment has been a roller coaster: it shot $ 46 billion In 2021, then starry in 85% the following year in the midst of the largest decrease in Fintech high -flight companies.

CEO Sebastian Siestkowski has worked to improve Klarna’s perspectives, including the promotion of its use of Generative To cut expenses and personnel. The company returned to profitability in 2023, and its valuation is now approximately $ 15 billion, according to analysts, almost coinciding with the public market value of AFFIRM.

OnePay’s agreement is a “change of play” for Klarna, said Siemiatkowski in a release confirming the pact.

“Millions of people in the United States store in Walmart every day, and now they can buy smarter with a spay -driven loans driven by Klarna,” he said. “We hope to help redefine payment in the world’s largest retailer, both online and stores.”

As part of the agreement, OnePay can take a position in Klarna. In his F-1 fileKlarna said he signed a “commercial agreement with a global partner” in which he is giving purchase orders to buy more than 15 million shares for an average price of $ 34 each. OnePay is the couple, people with knowledge of the confirmed agreement.

To affirm, the movement is likely to be seen as a blow at a time when technological actions are particularly vulnerable. Directed by CEO Max Levchinto PayPal Co -founder, the company’s shares have increased and fallen since its IPO of 2021. The actions of the lender have dropped 18% this year before Monday.

Executives often mention their associations with large merchants as a key driver of purchase volumes and customer acquisition. In November, Official Income AFIRM Wayne Pommen referred to Walmart and other links, including those with Amazon, Shop and Aim as its “Corona jewelry associations”.

An AFFIRM spokesman declined to comment.

The agreement is no less consistent for the Unpay of Walmart, which has increased to a $ 2.5 billion Assessment prior to money only two years after launching a set of products to your customers.

The startup now has more than 3 million active customers and is generating income at an annual execution rate of more than $ 200 million.

As part of their impulse to penetrate areas adjacent to their main business, Walmart executives have promoted OnePay’s potential to become a unique window for Americans unattended by traditional banks.

Walmart is the world’s largest retailer and says it has 255 million weekly customers, which gives the startup, which is a separate company backed by Walmart and Ribbit capital – A key advantage in the acquisition of new customers.

Last year, the Fintech backed by Walmart He started offering BNPL loans in the halls and in Walmart’s payment pages, CNBC reported at that time. That led to the speculation that it would finally move to affirm that it had been the exclusive provider of BNL loans for Walmart since 2019.

Onepay’s movement to associate with Klarna instead of doing so only shows that the company saw an advantage in going with an experienced provider on a scale instead of using its own solution.

OnePay’s impulse is expected to impulse consumers’ loans to accelerate their conversion of Walmart customers into users of Fintech applications. Consumers with liquidity problems depend more and more on loans to meet their needs, and the loan in installments is considered a wedge to offer users the characteristics of banking, savings and payments that OnePay has already built.

The Americans had a record $ 1.21 billion In the debt of the credit card in the fourth quarter of last year, around $ 441 billion more than the balances in 2021, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“It has never been more important to give consumers simple and convenient ways to access a right loan at the point of sale,” said OnePay CEO, Omer Ismail. “That is especially true for the millions of people who resort to Walmart every week for everything.”

The following is likely to be a credit card with the one -time brand that is offered with the help of a new banking partner after Walmart successfully left Your association with Capital one.

“We hope to follow this new path where they can not only provide credit credit … but also rotary credit,” Walmart CFO John David Rainey He told investors in June.

– Mackenzie Sigalos and Melissa Repko of CNBC contributed to this report.