Klarna, the buy-now, pay-later firm, is looking to make a Robinhood-like product for trading stocks, an internal job ad shows

• Klarna wants a team to build a stock-trading tool to compete with Robinhood, per an internal note.
• Klarna said it was "exploring this concept" and might decide not to take it to market.
• The Swedish buy-now, pay-later giant is preparing for an IPO that's expected to be in the US.

The Swedish fintech firm Klarna is hiring a team to build a product that would compete with Robinhood's trading platform by letting customers buy and sell stocks through its app.

The company internally advertised four roles to create a team to build the product, according to an internal Slack message seen by Business Insider.

A move into trading for Klarna, which is preparing for a widely anticipated initial public offering, would be a deviation from its core business of providing financial services for consumers to pay for goods in installments, known as buy-now, pay-later services, or BNPL.

"Our mission is to obliterate the barriers to consumer investing and empower every Klarna user to build their financial future in a single place - the Klarna App," the internal message said. "Think Trade Republic, Robinhood, N26… but with a Klarna-size upgrade."

The post, written by Ludo Lombaard, a Klarna director and domain leader, was shared in the company's general Slack channel on October 6.

Lombaard said the company was exploring the possibility of "offering customers the opportunity to buy and sell stocks" and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, in the Klarna app. The message said Klarna planned to add "the world of consumer investments to our product offering."

The post said the company was internally recruiting engineering and trading roles to work on the product.

"We are starting from the ground up. So it is a good time to get involved," it said, adding that the challenge "is not for everyone."

"Expect long days and the exhilarating rush of building something that matters," it continued.

It ended with a quote from the movie "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit": "If you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere, you got to wake up and pay attention."

A Klarna spokesperson told BI: "Klarna continuously explores new product concepts to serve our customers. This exploration does not mean that such a product will eventually go to market."

The spokesperson added: "We are at the very early stages of exploring this concept and are putting in place a small team to validate our hypotheses. There are no firm plans for the product and it is possible that, after the team's exploration, we decide not to go ahead."

Klarna gears up for US IPO

Founded in 2005, Klarna offers short-term financing to customers online and in stores at checkout. It says it has partnered with more than 600,000 merchants, including Apple, Adidas, and Airbnb.

The model has been a mainstay for Klarna, which in 2021 was valued at $45.6 billion, making it the most valuable startup in Europe at the time. Its valuation fell to $6.7 billion in 2022 during a wider market downturn for startups.

Bloomberg reported in February that Klarna was said to be in talks with banks to go public in the US at a $20 billion valuation.

This year Klarna has ramped up its activity in the US, announcing a partnership with Uber and the launch of a cash-back card.

In August, Klarna said its US gross profits increased by 93% year over year in the first half of 2024.

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