Klarna is one of Europe's fastest growing online payments companies, serving 60 million consumers and 70,000 retailers.
The equity investment and planned partnership demonstrate Visa and Klarna's shared vision to accelerate online and mobile commerce for the benefit of consumers and merchants across Europe. The announcement was made at Money 20/20 being held in Copenhagen through June 28.
Visa's planned investment is part of a global strategy to open up the Visa ecosystem and support a broad range of new partners who are helping to redefine and enhance the purchase experience for millions of consumers globally. Klarna develops products that address changing consumer preferences, giving them the flexibility and seamless experience they expect when shopping.
"Klarna has demonstrated an expertise in consumer credit and online purchasing and together, we share a vision for how today's online and mobile commerce experiences can be as simple as they are in the real world," said Jim McCarthy, executive vice president, innovation and strategic partnerships, Visa Inc. "Visa is committed to partnering with a new generation of partners and payment providers to bring secure, online commerce to many more consumers in Europe. We look forward to working more closely with Klarna to accomplish this."
"The Visa and Klarna partnership is a natural fit. We both understand consumer credit and the value of consumer centricity in developing innovative payment solutions," said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, chief executive officer and co-founder of Klarna.
"Klarna continually strives to offer the most advanced choice of payment solutions for our merchants and give consumers the smoothest buying experiences. Partnering with Visa will give us the opportunity to strengthen our global presence and product portfolio by leveraging our combined assets. We are excited about the possibilities of what we can do together."
According to Forrester, Europe is expected to see double-digit growth in online sales in the coming years. By 2021, the growth in the number of connected devices and improvements in mobile connectivity will drive online sales to reach 12 percent of the region's total retail sales. Additionally, online retail sales are expected to grow at an average rate of 12 percent per year over the next five years in Western Europe.
