<ul><li> Klarna , a leading buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company, has opened its in-house open banking infrastructure to third-party financial institutions, fintechs, and merchants, dubbed “Klarna Kosma.”</ul>

• Kosma can be used for account insight services (AIS) and to initiate account-to-account payments through its network of over 15,000 financial institutions across 24 countries. 

• Although the API-based platform mainly focuses on European and American banking connections currently, Klarna plans to expand its connections in several markets including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the near future.

• Klarna is a Swedish ecommerce payment solutions provider and regulated bank with an extensive BNPL product in its offering. It offers retailer integrations and also allows users in select markets to browse and shop directly on its app and convert purchases into monthly installments even if they are not Klarna partners. 

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: Earlier this month, Visa completed the acquisition of Tink , a leading Swedish open banking infrastructure provider, to expand its open banking presence in the region. Through this launch, Klarna will be entering and competing in the same space, which includes well-funded startups like Truelayer and Token , in addition to Tink (which remains an independent entity despite the acquisition).</ul>