Klarna rolls out P2P payments in Europe, accelerating digital banking push

Klarna, the giant buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, has introduced instant peer-to-peer (P2P) payments across 13 European countries, bolstering its ambition to become a leading digital bank. The new feature enables Klarna customers in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK to send money directly through the firm’s app. To maintain security, after a user confirms the payment amount and selects the recipient — via phone number, QR code, email, or saved contact — Klarna performs various fraud and eligibility checks. Last October, the BNPL firm partnered with Google Cloud to leverage its AI hardware and strengthen its fraud detection capabilities.