About Sebastian Siemiatkowski
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Klarna, has been discussing the company's evolution from a buy now, pay later provider towards broader payment and banking services. In recent interviews, he described Klarna as aiming for "parity with Visa and MasterCard as a network," with a focus on being available everywhere and becoming a preferred brand for everyday spending. He stated that Klarna's charge card equivalent product is "healthier to consumers" than credit cards because it offers fixed-term, zero-interest installments and does not revolve balances. Siemiatkowski also said that Klarna does not offer revolving credit, calling it "a bad concept" that is "confusing."
Siemiatkowski addressed the company's AI-driven customer service changes, saying that the company's AI bot handled tasks equivalent to about 850 agent positions. He noted that because Klarna outsourced those roles, no employees lost their jobs. On regulation, he said he is "very much in favor for free capitalism" but acknowledged that "some rules may be helpful" in certain markets. Regarding Klarna's banking license, obtained in 2010, he said the company sees only advantages from being regulated, including access to deposits and clear compliance guidelines. He described the U.S. as Klarna's largest and fastest-growing market, adding that the company's experience operating in a regulated, lower-interchange European market positions it to offer "more affordable solutions" in the U.S.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Sebastian Siemiatkowski's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Sebastian Siemiatkowski0:00
In a world with lower information asymmetries, where things can easily be compared, I think more and more consumers are waking up and seeing the benefit of these compared to credit cards. So, that is definitely going to continue.
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Scarlett Sieber0:16
Scarlett Sieber here, Chief Strategy Growth Officer for Money 2020, and I have the one, the only Sebastian Siemiatkowski.
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Sebastian Siemiatkowski0:23
Nice.
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Scarlett Sieber0:24
The CEO of Klarna, but really for me, the proud Swede. That's what we're doing here. So, let's just get right to it. Sebastian, you and I just got off the main stage with Takis Georgakopoulos, the co-president of Fiserv. Lots of great things that are happening here. I'm curious, you were a pioneer in the fintech space on the continent of Europe, and when you started, buy now, pay later was viewed as a disruptive alternative payment method. We've come a long way from there. Are we done? Where are we going from here?
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Sebastian Siemiatkowski0:50
Well, we're in an extremely exciting phase right now, because we have finally reached a place where our partners like Stripe, Adyen, and JP Morgan Chase, and so forth, are adding us not only as an alternative payment method, but as the default. We're now part of the package together with Visa and Mastercard, and that's now being rolled out. This has accelerated growth of the number of merchants and allows us to bring payment methods for both everyday purchases, for the charge card equivalent of buy now, pay later, and big ticket spend. So, I think we've come far, but there's amazing opportunity ahead.
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Scarlett Sieber1:23
There definitely is. And as commerce enters the agentic era, we can't stop talking about agents. How and the way that we pay changes, do you see short-term lending becoming more embedded in everyday experiences? Just talk about the view of lending.
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Sebastian Siemiatkowski1:36
Well, I think the charge card equivalent product of buy now, pay later is so healthier to consumers. It doesn't try to make you revolve a big balance. It's fixed-term installments, paying for 0% interest. It is genuinely a better option for consumers, and in a world with lower information asymmetries, where things can easily be compared, I think more and more consumers are waking up and seeing the benefit of these compared to credit cards. So, that is definitely going to continue.
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Scarlett Sieber2:02
So, you listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Obviously, we've talked about the Swedish connection. When you think about the European landscape and the US landscape, what are you most excited about both? Where do you see the contrasts?
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Sebastian Siemiatkowski2:12
I think it's fantastic that we have built this business originally in Europe thanks to the fact that we can passport our bank license across all of the European markets. We now basically have one tech platform, one offering for a huge audience. In total, we have over 120 million consumers, but the largest market today is the US and the fastest growing one, which also excites us a lot. And I think to some degree even the fact that we are coming from a more frugal market where interchange is regulated means that to us, the US market with like 200 basis points for credit cards looks very attractive because we're used to operating at very different revenue lines. So, it just shows tremendous opportunity to now grow and offer more affordable solutions for both consumers and merchants alike in the US.
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Scarlett Sieber2:56
And you've really changed the game of the continent and beyond for the last decade. Where does Klarna go from here?
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Sebastian Siemiatkowski3:02
I think we're just going to continue with what I said, which is making sure we reach parity with Visa and Mastercard as a network for being available everywhere. And then in addition to that, continue our efforts to try to build a preferred brand for consumers that they prefer and want to use for all of their everyday spending.
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Scarlett Sieber3:20
Amazing. Well, that will do it for today taking stock. Thank you so much, Sebastian Siemiatkowski. Great to have you here.
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Sebastian Siemiatkowski3:26
Thank you for having me.
