Klarna
Experiences, reviews and information about the provider
(product costs may apply)
Details
Pros
- Free account management with no minimum investment on call money
- Call money and fixed-term deposits combined in one digital access point
- Full banking licence and supervision in Sweden, plus ECB supervision
- Fully digital account opening
Cons
- No German deposit protection, the Swedish Riksgälden is responsible
- No automatic withholding of the Abgeltungsteuer, tax exemption order (Freistellungsauftrag) not possible
- Interest rates are adjusted regularly, no lasting interest guarantee on call money
- Customer service and product focus lie strongly on the payments business
Fact sheet: Klarna
| Company name | Klarna |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Niederlassung Berlin |
| Country | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| BaFin-regulated | No |
| Deposit protection | €100,000 |
| Type | fintech |
| Website | klarna.com/de * |
About Klarna
Klarna was founded in Stockholm in 2005 and is today, as Klarna Bank AB (publ), a fully regulated Swedish bank with a branch in Berlin. The company became known for payment methods for online retail, in particular buying on invoice and instalment payment; since the end of 2013, Klarna has also collected savings deposits in Germany. For private customers there is a variable-rate call money account (Tagesgeld, instant-access savings) and fixed-term deposits (Festgeld) with terms from a few months to several years, with some of the offers arranged through interest platforms. As the legal entity is the Swedish bank, supervision lies with the Swedish Finansinspektionen and the ECB, not BaFin (the German financial regulator); deposits are protected up to €100,000 per customer by the state Swedish deposit guarantee Riksgälden. Savers should also note that with foreign institutions the Abgeltungsteuer (German flat-rate withholding tax on investment income) is not withheld automatically, and interest must be declared in the tax return yourself.
Special features
- Supervision by the Swedish Finansinspektionen instead of BaFin
- Protection via the state Swedish deposit guarantee Riksgälden
- Origins in buying on invoice for online retail, savings products only later
- German business runs through a branch in Berlin
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