Klarna CEO wants to turn the platform into a 'super app' with help from AI

Klarna's CEO is truthful bullish astir artificial quality that helium sees it changing the mode the fintech's 100 cardinal users slope each day.

On Wednesday, Klarna — a pioneer of the fashionable "buy now, wage later" (BNPL) outgo method — is announcing the motorboat of mobile telephone plans successful the U.S. via a concern with telecom services startup Gigs. The determination follows successful the footsteps of rival fintechs Revolut and N26, which person launched akin offerings. Klarna's plans travel with unlimited data, calls and texts and volition outgo $40 a month.

The caller telco offering aligns with CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski's imaginativeness to marque Klarna much of an all-encompassing personalized fiscal "super app" that tin connection services extracurricular the realms of accepted finance.

It isn't the company's archetypal attempt. Previously, Klarna tried to marque itself much akin to a "super app" — akin to Ant Group's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay — offering further services done aggregate antithetic buttons. This ended up being "confusing for the customer," however, Siemiatkowski told CNBC successful an interview.

But the Klarna brag stressed the portion AI tin play arsenic looks to diversify its services and go known for much than its BNPL offering.

"I deliberation successful this caller AI world, there's a amended accidental to service customers with antithetic services and past follow the benignant of level of articulation and visualization of those services than determination was historically," Siemiatkowski said.

"With AI, you tin abstract and follow the acquisition overmuch much to the circumstantial idiosyncratic you're dealing with," helium added.

Super apps are fashionable successful China and successful different parts of Asia. They're meant to service arsenic a one-stop store for each your mobile needs — for example, having taxi-hailing and nutrient ordering successful the aforesaid spot arsenic outgo and messaging services.

However, portion ace apps person flourished successful Asia, adoption successful Western markets has nevertheless been slower owed to a fig of reasons.

Siemiatkowski says he's spending a batch of his clip focusing connected AI.

"There's a tremendous accidental for that — but it's conscionable getting it to work," helium said. "Everyone who has utilized it knows it tin spit retired immoderate breathtaking worldly but past you request to marque definite that it works each time."

Going forward, Klarna's main sees the level becoming much of a "digital fiscal assistant" for users' every-day banking needs.

"If we person immoderate accusation that suggests that you are overpaying for your bearer subscription oregon your information oregon whatever," Siemiatkowski says, Klarna volition purpose to usage AI to "offer you some a proposition of a amended terms model, but besides with a click, instrumentality that and marque it a reality."

Acknowledging issues with Klarna's erstwhile effort to go a ace app, Siemiatkowski says the exertion conscionable wasn't "mature" capable astatine the time.

"Ultimately, the northbound prima for each fiscal products — particularly the fintech companies — is to effort and beryllium the fiscal advisor successful your pocket," Simon Taylor, Sardine.ai, told CNBC. "That backstage banker similar acquisition but provided by a marque becomes the super-aggregator of your fiscal life, and that's what 'owning the customer' looks similar successful the property of AI."

Taylor added that, portion galore firms are inactive figuring retired however to usage AI, "you've got companies similar Klarna gathering successful nationalist and trying to drawback marketplace stock for a aboriginal that mightiness not yet beryllium built."

Klarna reported a $99 cardinal loss for the 4th that ended successful March, citing one-off costs relating to depreciation, share-based payments and restructuring.

Still, Klarna has a cognition occupation to overcome. In the U.S., the steadfast has go synonymous with the "buy now, wage later" (BNPL) outgo method, which allows consumers to wage disconnected orders implicit monthly installments — typically interest-free.

By contrast, European consumers admit they tin usage Klarna to store their deposits and wage for things successful 1 spell arsenic good arsenic via a recognition plan, according to Siemiatkowski.

He besides expressed vexation with "the benignant of memes that we get successful in the U.S. erstwhile it's like, 'Oh, Klarna launched with DoorDash ... it is simply a motion of the macroeconomic environment," referring to a tie-up the institution announced with nutrient transportation app DoorDash earlier this twelvemonth that was met with backlash online.

Siemiakowski said this benignant of absorption wouldn't hap successful the German oregon Nordic markets, wherever Klarna operates much similar online outgo strategy PayPal.

He sees a aboriginal wherever Klarna works arsenic a much all-encompassing fiscal ecosystem with add-on services specified arsenic features for investments successful stocks and cryptocurrencies — which, helium adds, is "not that acold off."

"Offering radical the quality to put successful some banal and crypto is is what's becoming a benignant of much modular portion of a neobank offering," helium said, portion stressing helium doesn't privation to vie with fashionable U.S. banal trading app Robinhood.

Klarna paused plans to spell nationalist successful April, aft U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs connected dozens of countries.

Siemiatkowski said that Klarna has already achieved what it acceptable retired to bash successful bid to beryllium acceptable for that milestone — namely, gathering up a marque successful the U.S.

"The U.S. is present our largest marketplace by fig of users. It's a profitable marketplace for us," helium said. "Those things person been accomplished."

Whether the institution does oregon doesn't spell public, the concern strategy for Klarna remains the same.

"That is conscionable a steadfast mode to thrust liquidity for our shareholders, arsenic good arsenic springiness the institution much ways to money itself, if it would similar to bash so, and ... to amusement that this is simply a an established company," Siemiatkowski said.

WATCH: Why the U.S. doesn't person 'super apps'