Sweden-based Klarna, a BNPL provider, launches open banking-powered settlements in the UK, allowing users to make payments directly via their bank accounts.

Klarna’s open banking-powered payments aim to reduce payment costs and improve lending decisions by bypassing traditional card networks and using up-to-date bank account data.

Klarna users click “Pay by bank” to pay via their bank app; linked bank data allows Klarna to offer consumers insights into their spending and other budgeting tools and make lending decisions based on spending habits.

Analyst QuickTake: The SEPA Payment Account Access Scheme (SPAA), led by the European Payments Council, extends beyond the EU's Payment Services Directive (PSD2) requirement, offering banks ways to monetize their open banking APIs and foster collaboration between banks and FinTechs. In recent months, various FinTech infrastructure providers, such as TrueLayer , Token , Tink , and Volt , have joined SPAA to improve open banking monetization.