Klarna Allies With Radial As It Builds U.S. Market Share in Online And Mobile Payments

Up against formidable competitors like PayPal Holdings Inc., Sweden’s Klarna is seeking every edge it can find for increased U.S. market share in online payments. That effort received a boost on Tuesday with the announcement by omnicommerce specialist Radial that it has integrated Klarna on it platform, which supports hundreds of merchants. E-commerce platforms already supporting Klarna include BigCommerce, Shopify Inc., Magento, Cybersource, Demandware Inc., and OpenCart.

Serving more than 45 million users and 65,000 merchants globally, Klarna entered the U.S. market late in 2015. Since then, it has built its U.S. user base to more than 2 million. More than half of its U.S. volume Stefan Weitz, chief product and strategy officer at Radial, said in a statement. “Giving customers a straight forward financing option is not only convenient for them, but benefits our retailers’ order value. No smoke and mirrors and hidden costs. It’s a fantastic way to reduce friction in the purchase process to convert more shoppers to buyers.”

Klarna’s wallet supports credit and debit cards as well as bank transfers via the automated clearing house. But it also finances purchases, with the option for consumers to pay Klarna immediately or over time.

The service speeds checkout by requiring only an email address and ZIP Code. That’s important with a high volume of mobile orders, but Klarna is up against biometrically authenticated checkouts such as PayPal’s One Touch service, which is rapidly gaining popularity.

Credit extension could help lend further momentum to Klarna’s adoption in the U.S. “We have built a solution optimized for the online shopping experience with a particular focus on mobile commerce,” said <![endif]–>

King of Prussia, Pa.-based Radial was formed a year ago with the combination of eBay Enterprise Inc. and Innotrac Corp., a company focused on order processing and fulfillment. Private-equity firm Sterling Partners led a consortium that acquired eBay Enterprise a year after a group led by the same firm bought Duluth, Ga.-based Innotrac in 2014. Radial focuses on e-commerce logistics as well as payments. Clients include Kate Spade, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Toys R Us, and PetSmart.