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While this is a win for Klarna, merchants may not want to take on the higher transaction costs that sometimes come with BNPL plans

The rollout will help it keep up with Klarna, but well-established competitors in the market could limit its growth

It鈥檚 a large volume opportunity for the BNPL player and helps Klarna compete with. It can also help keep users loyal to Apple as its NFC tech opens up

Fintech unicorns are becoming major startup incubators, creating city-specific hubs for innovation, even as Klarna cuts staff amid shifting market trends

As its main US competitor Klarna attempts to be an 鈥渆verything app,鈥� with side forays into the mobile phone plans, Affirm can gain ground by concentrating on the fundamentals of its business: We forecast that Affirm will control 30.6% of BNPL payment penetration for the US market this year, leading Klarna at 26.6%.

Klarna backtracked on its push to replace customer service workers with AI after user experience quality declined. Big Tech cuts: Amazon has already slashed its workforce in recent years鈥攊t鈥檚 cut about 27,000 employees since 2022, per The Verge. Meta isn鈥檛 far behind with over 21,000 layoffs since 2022, and Microsoft has laid off at least 16,000 people since 2023.

It just sold off Klarna Checkout, now rebranded as Kustom. The business could become a desirable acquisition target for its newest partner.

DoorDash, for example, has broadened its reach by teaming up with a wide range of regional and family-owned grocery chains like Stew Leonard鈥檚 and teamed up with Klarna to offer a buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment option. Uber Eats, meanwhile, is deepening its grocery presence in key markets like New York City, where it has partnered with FreshDirect to offer same-day and on-demand grocery delivery.

Our take: Affirm and other major BNPL providers like Klarna have been focusing on platform and payment provider partnerships to grow their acceptance networks. But individual merchant relationships are still important as well鈥攅specially to accelerate growth in specific categories like furniture and home goods.

Affirm鈥檚 main competitor, Klarna, views its repayment data as proprietary and will likely be reluctant to let credit bureaus鈥攁nd therefore competing lenders鈥攁ccess that data, per Fintech Takes鈥� Alex Johnson.

Global Payments can also tap Worldpay鈥檚 recent partnerships with Klarna and BVNK, which aim to reduce hurdles for completing transactions for customers and payments for merchants. Integrating BNPL financing and crypto payments at the POS broadens customer choice, which can help distinguish Global Payment merchants from other competing vendors.

This win combats Affirm鈥檚 recent loss of Walmart to Klarna. Affirm also benefited from recent tie-ups with Adyen, which helped the company burrow into the UK market. Our take: Affirm is attempting to break away from its competition by mimicking traditional lenders: Affirm started reporting loans to TransUnion this month and is chipping into in-person retail sales with the Affirm Card.

The FTA鈥攚hich counts BNPL firms like Block, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip among its members鈥攕ued in response, calling the CFPB鈥檚 reinterpretation 鈥渁rbitrary and capricious.鈥�. What this means: BNPL providers notch a win with the reversal. Fintechs have argued that their services are distinct from credit card and loan issuers and warrant bespoke regulations.

If OnePay鈥檚 role in the co-brand portfolio is successful, Klarna should take caution. OnePay test-drove its own BNPL product before outsourcing to the Swedish fintech. Walmart is not shy about breaking off partnerships to better position itself in the market.

Fintechs like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay could launch similar strategies. Our take: Apple Pay benefits from strong brand loyalty and frictionless integration with iPhone鈥檚 interface. As Apple鈥檚 walled garden crumbles and competitors seize on that seamless integration, the contactless payment playing field could begin to level.

Afterpay and Klarna will do so by the end of the year. Both need to penetrate in-store sales, are building out debit card programs to do so, and would benefit from the extra interchange. This will help drive BNPL transaction value. Click here to view our full forecast for US BNPL payment value. Leading US mobile wallets will maintain a competitive edge鈥攆or now.

The FTA鈥攚hich includes BNPL providers like Block, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip鈥攕ued the CFPB in October. It argued the rule was 鈥渁rbitrary and capricious鈥� and failed to consider how BNPL products function at a base level.

For instance, fintech company Klarna halted its IPO plans in response to Trump鈥檚 tariff announcements. The bottom line: Omada and Hinge don鈥檛 seem too concerned with the current market volatility, but they have other challenges unique to the sector鈥攏amely, validating that digital health programs for chronic condition management can be worthwhile long-term investments for employer and payer customers.

Klarna. PYMNTS.com. Zip.

In the past year, Apple Pay partnered with Affirm and Klarna. Google Wallet also recently added Afterpay and Klarna, building on its tie-ups with Affirm and Zip. Delinquencies will remain low. Structural repayment differences will keep BNPL default rates lower than those of credit cards. Most BNPL providers require automatic repayments, helping keep rates low.

The service may incentivize more shoppers to pay with the BNPL provider, and it may also bring Klarna key data benefits