Klarna’s CTO Koen Köppen and Stripe’s CPO Will Gaybrick released a joint announcement that revealed a new strategic partnership between the two firms. The collaboration will allow retailers that use the Stripe payments platform to activate buy now, pay later option provided by Klarna as a payment method in their checkout with just a few clicks, hassle-free. What is more, Klarna revealed that already 90% of its payments volume in the US and Canada is covered by Stripe. Both companies have expressed interest in expanding their close partnership to more countries. The businesses that have already implemented Klarna in their Stripe checkout have seen a 27% increase in sales on average. In some cases, retailers noticed that 40% of users choosing Klarna are new customers, which confirms that Klarna’s app is also an effective way to generate leads.

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Laybuy, the only BNPL FinTech that conducts hard credit checks, has asked more than 2,000 respondents in the UK about their use of buy now pay later products. The survey revealed that:

• 73% of consumers identify BNPL as a credit product,
• 50% of them have already used this payment method,
• a majority of them support soft and hard credit checks for those that want to access this kind of product,
• 71% of respondents agreed that BNPL companies should share the information regarding customers using their products with other credit providers.

Gary Rohloff, co-founder and managing director of Laybuy, has commented on the survey results: “Just because there is no interest on BNPL, we should never forget that this is a credit product and consumers have the right to be protected.”

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The asset management group abrdn, formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen, announced the acquisition of Finimize, a platform that provides investors with insights. This is yet another move towards the digitisation of abrdn’s asset management services, following the acquisition of the B2C digital wealth management company Exo investing from Nucoro, announced in August. Finimize boasts over 1 million subscribers to its investing newsletter and 40,000 premium subscribers that receive investing tips. According to a press release, Finimize will continue to operate as an independent platform, and the CEO Max Rofagha will become a part of abrdn’s leadership team.

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The Berlin-based buy now, pay later provider for businesses successfully closed the Series C funding round, bagging $100 million. As a result, its valuation nearly quadrupled, reaching $640 million. The round was led by Dawn Capital, supported by other investors: Klarna, Tencent, Creandum, Speedinvest, Picus and GFC. The founders: Dr Christian Grobe, Dr Matthias Knecht and Aiga Senftleben want Billie to become Klarna for businesses by implementing features such as “longer payment deadlines, instalments, special offers for B2B marketplaces, e-invoicing and more.” The company will also enhance its integration with Klarna and other technical partners.

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