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Klarna goes on a shopping spree

Hello and welcome to Protocol | Fintech! This Tuesday: behind Klarna's series of deals, Amazon's struggle to make a splash in payments, and Square's identity crisis.
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After a new round of funding that left it worth north of $45 billion, "buy now, pay later" company Klarna didn't waste time in putting the fresh capital to work snapping up smaller companies.
A simple strategy would be to roll up other BNPL companies. It's not doing that. Instead, it bought four companies that flesh out the services it provides for merchants and consumers.
Rival Affirm may be more well-known in the U.S., but Klarna, born in Sweden, has been growing quickly in the U.S. It has 18.5 million U.S. customers, 1.8 million of whom are in its Vibe customer loyalty program, and 9,500 U.S. merchants. It's also available in 60,000 physical store locations in the country.
"Buy now, pay later" is becoming a commodity. Investors are pouring money into the sector, and established players are jumping in, too.
Services and distribution matter. Simply offering a "buy now, pay later" option won't be enough to lure merchants.
As ecommerce and tech players horn in on "buy now, pay later," Klarna is moving upstream into shopping and ecommerce. It's already got an app that promises "shopping inspo." The challenge will be getting merchants and consumers to buy into its vision.
— Tomio Geron
Buy-side leaders who make data-driven decisions now could prosper for years to come. That's why asset managers are prioritizing data and analytics initiatives at a faster rate than ever before. Broadridge helps you transform operations, strengthen client relationships and uncover opportunities that others may miss.
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There's a big question mark over Amazon's crypto play. It's hiring a crypto and blockchain lead. But it missed its chance to be PayPal, Square and Stripe — so is this its chance to miss being Coinbase, too?
What fintech sector or company is most underrated right now?
Underrated: financial infrastructure. Despite it being a buzzy term, there's still so much potential. Many core technologies still remain dominated by legacy monoliths.
What fintech trend is most troubling for you?
Gamified features that correlate to negative user outcomes. For instance, encouraging people to actively trade complex financial products they have no expertise in trading. While gamification is nice and can be an adrenaline rush in the moment, it can be really harmful to one's long-term nest egg.
What's your favorite pastime that doesn't involve a screen?
Playing soccer. I was always a center-mid. It's like jazz to me — no set plays, just coordinated spontaneity. Threading a pass through an opponent's defense is such an adrenaline rush. Creating goals is way more fun than scoring them.
Buy-side leaders who make data-driven decisions now could prosper for years to come. That's why asset managers are prioritizing data and analytics initiatives at a faster rate than ever before. Broadridge helps you transform operations, strengthen client relationships and uncover opportunities that others may miss.
That's the value of liquidated short positions following the recent bitcoin rally.
Thanks for reading — see you Friday!
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