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Klarna

✓ Verified by EU Alts

Buy now, pay later and flexible checkout solutions — a European alternative to Affirm and PayPal Credit.

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Overview

Klarna is a Stockholm, Sweden-based European company building fintech and payments software since 2005. Despite its EU base, EU Alts has verified that Klarna is independently owned, with its ultimate ownership based in Sweden, and hosts customer data with AWS (Amazon Web Services), so it may still fall under the reach of the US CLOUD Act — worth weighing against Stripe on this specific point.

Why European teams pick Klarna

Teams in Europe still consider Klarna for its fintech product and Sweden presence, operating since 2005, but unlike a fully EU-owned provider, Klarna is independently owned, with its ultimate ownership based in Sweden, and hosts customer data with AWS (Amazon Web Services) — so it does not fully avoid US CLOUD Act exposure the way some other alternatives to Stripe do.

See more EU fintech tools or browse other startups from Sweden.

About

Klarna is a Swedish fintech company founded in Stockholm in 2005 and now one of Europe's largest privately held technology companies. It offers Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), consumer financing, and checkout solutions used by over 500,000 merchants globally. For EU e-commerce businesses, Klarna is the leading BNPL provider — particularly strong in Sweden, Germany, and the Nordics — and is regulated as a bank under Swedish financial services law. Klarna's checkout reduces cart abandonment by offering consumers flexible payment options at the moment of purchase. Its merchant APIs and Shopify/WooCommerce plugins are straightforward to integrate.

Details

Founded
2005
Headquarters
Stockholm, Sweden
Ownership
Independently owned (Sweden)
Hosting
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
CLOUD Act
Exposed
Verified
2026-07-31
Last checked
2026-07-31
Company size
200+ employees

Categories

Compare with the US product you may be replacing

Klarna is listed in a category that our US-product comparison pages cover. See every EU option side by side:

Other EU startups like Klarna

  • Payplug ✓ Verified by EU AltsFrance — Simple online and in-person payment solution for French businesses — a French alternative to Stripe.
  • Wise ✓ Verified by EU AltsUnited Kingdom — International money transfers at the real exchange rate — a UK alternative to PayPal and Western Union.
  • Mollie ✓ Verified by EU AltsNetherlands — Simple payment processing for European businesses — an alternative to Stripe.
  • Adyen ✓ Verified by EU AltsNetherlands — Global payments platform used by major enterprises — a European alternative to Stripe and Braintree.
  • Mangopay ✓ Verified by EU AltsLuxembourg — White-label payment infrastructure for marketplaces and platforms — a Luxembourg alternative to Stripe Connect.
  • Invoicia ✓ Verified by EU AltsNorway — Free, EU-hosted invoicing for sole traders and small businesses: create a PDF invoice in under a minute with no account. Optional free account adds PEPPOL BIS 3.0 XML export and e-mail sending.

Frequently asked questions

What does Klarna do?

Klarna is buy now, pay later and flexible checkout solutions — a european alternative to affirm and paypal credit. It is listed under fintech and payments on EU Alts because its core functionality serves teams looking for a European fintech tool with EU data residency, typically as a switch away from Stripe.

Is Klarna GDPR compliant?

Klarna is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and processes user data under the GDPR by default. Customer data processing is supervised by Sweden's data protection authority, the Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten (IMY). However, EU Alts has verified that Klarna is independently owned, with its ultimate ownership based in Sweden, and hosts customer data with AWS (Amazon Web Services), which means — unlike a fully EU-owned provider — it may still be reachable under the US CLOUD Act, similar to Stripe in that respect.

How do teams switch from Stripe to Klarna?

Teams evaluating a move from Stripe to Klarna should note: Klarna is independently owned, with its ultimate ownership based in Sweden, and hosts customer data with AWS (Amazon Web Services), so this switch narrows but may not fully close the US CLOUD Act gap. Weigh that against the fintech workflow fit before treating it as a complete Schrems II fix.

Where is Klarna based?

Klarna is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The company was founded in 2005. Its main website is https://www.klarna.com.