Klarna Applies for U.S. Bank Charter in Utah
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- Klarna applied to federal and state regulators for a U.S. bank subsidiary, which if approved would operate as Klarna Bank USA, an FDIC-backed institution chartered in Utah
- Gary Harding, former CEO of Milestone Bank and Prime Alliance Bank, would lead the proposed U.S. bank, according to Klarna
- Klarna said a charter would let it fund loans with its own customer deposits rather than more expensive wholesale financing, and directly offer checking accounts and credit cards with less reliance on partners like WebBank
- The application follows Klarna's September IPO, with shares now trading at roughly half the $40 offering price, and the company's recent U.S. launch of high-yield savings accounts held by partner WebBank
- Klarna is joining a wave of fintech firms seeking their own charters — Mercury won conditional approval to establish its own bank in April
Why it matters: Klarna's charter push would replace costly wholesale funding with cheaper customer deposits, potentially tightening margins on its lending book at a time when shares trade near half the $40 IPO price. The move also positions Klarna to compete with neobanks and traditional card issuers rather than remain a single-product BNPL company.
