Something as seemingly simple as shopping for groceries at a supermarket like Walmart has become difficult for many consumers recently. This is due to an array of factors ranging from increased inflation rates to stagnant job markets. The latest contributor to price hikes across the retail sector is the trouble with the increased tariff rates for goods imported into the United States.
As such, consumers have had to become creative in their budgeting now that even grocery shopping is becoming increasingly challenging. As such, many consumers prefer to opt for installment loan credit services at checkout which allows them to purchase their goods immediately, whilst paying off the bill in monthly or weekly installments.
The good news for Walmart shoppers is that the retailer will now offer the buy now, pay later service known as Klarna at its stores.
Walmart changes credit partner
OnePay, backed by Walmart Inc, will now be partnering with Klarna Group Plc to bring a buy now, pay later credit option to shoppers of Walmart. The move will have Affirm replaced as the supermarket giant’s fast credit payment option.
According to a statement made on Monday, shoppers can access Klarna through the OnePay finance app. Klarna’s buy now, pay later option will be available for both physical checkout in store, as well as for online purchases with the retailer.
Klarna’s chief executive officer Sebastian Siemiatkowski has shared that, “this is a game changer.”
Through this collaboration, Klarna will now gain access to the millions of shoppers making purchases from the supermarket giant. Furthermore, this will also give the fast credit financer an additional avenue for expansion in the United States which is already one of its rapidly growing markets.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Klarna has entered into an arrangement with OnePay as of March. As a result of this arrangement, OnePay will now be allowed to acquire 15.3 million shares from the Swedish fintech. The person familiar with this matter was not at liberty to divulge any further information, however.
As per Klarna’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the fintech firm has entered into a “commercial agreement with a global partner.” The name of this global partner has not yet been revealed, however. Additionally, OnePay declined to make any comment on the deal.
Affirm Holdings Inc.
For the time being, Affirm Holdings Inc. will remain a partner of Walmart. However, once the rollout for Klarna’s integration is completed throughout the course of this year, Affirm Holdings and Walmart will sever ties. Once this occurs, Klarna will become the sole installment loan option for Walmart shoppers.
Affirm Holdings also recorded a drop in shares of as much as 15.8% once the market had opened. As such, the firm was trading at 5.8% lower at 2:46pm in New York.
In a statement shared by Affirm Holdings, the company said that its “integrated program with Walmart represented about 5% of its gross merchandise volume and approximately 2% of its adjusted operating income in the six months through December, and its products are also available via direct-to-consumer offerings such as the Affirm Card.”
Mere days prior to this tie-up, Klarna had publicly filed for a U.S. initial public offering. This filing could potentially be one of the largest financial company listings of the year. According to reports from Bloomberg News, “Klarna is seeking to raise at least $1 billion and is targeting a valuation of more than $15 billion in the listing.”
Revenue for this digital payments company founded in Stockholm showed an increase of 24% last year alone. According to the Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Klarna recorded a net income of $21 million on revenue of $2.81 billion for 2024. By the end of December, the firm also has a customer base of 93 million users worldwide.