The company said in a press release that this growth demonstrates more frequent use of Klarna’s banking, spending and shopping services as customers make these services part of their everyday money management.
The growing usage also comes as Klarna furthers its ambition to make its app a hub for managing money, according to the release. The company recently added a debit card, membership tiers, cashback, mobile phone plans and peer-to-peer payments in Europe as part of this initiative.
“When people use Klarna every day, it shows we’re delivering on our vision of becoming the global digital bank for the next generation,” Klarna CEO and Co-Founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in the release.
“Consumers are using the app to stay on top of their spending and manage their money, which is exactly how we see Klarna evolving into an everyday money management app people rely on in real life.”
Klarna reported Feb. 19 that it doubled its number of banking customers over the past year, with the total reaching 15.8 million in the fourth quarter. The company defines banking customers as those who use the company’s services beyond payments, such as the Klarna Card, Fair Financing or savings accounts.
Overall, across its entire business during the fourth quarter, Klarna saw its number of active customers rise 28% to 118 million.
“We’re building a global digital bank that saves consumers time and money and puts them in control of their finances,” Siemiatkowski said while announcing these figures in a letter from the CEO. “Our results show consumers are hungry for it.”
When Klarna announced in January that its app now enables peer-to-peer payments between Klarna users in 13 European countries, Siemiatkowski said this contributed to the company’s mission to become a money management hub.
“With peer-to-peer payments we’re making it even easier to manage all your payments through Klarna, now including small transfers, making managing your money quicker, easier and cheaper,” Siemiatkowski said.