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Klarna Valued at Nearly $20 Billion in Strong NYSE Debut

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Klarna made a powerful entrance on the New York Stock Exchange, with shares surging 30% in their debut to $52, well above the IPO price of $40. The rally valued the Swedish buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) fintech at $19.65 billion, capping a long-awaited U.S. listing and signaling renewed momentum in the IPO market.

The company and its investors sold 34.3 million shares, raising $1.17 billion for selling shareholders including Sequoia Capital and Heartland A/S, while the IPO itself valued Klarna at $15.1 billion. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, who owns about 7% of the firm, did not sell shares.

The listing is the largest by a Swedish company since Spotify in 2018 and leads a busy IPO week, with seven firms — including the Winklevoss twins’ crypto exchange Gemini — preparing to go public in New York. Analysts say Klarna’s successful debut could encourage more fintechs to test the market after years of tariff-driven volatility and stalled listings.

Founded in 2005, Klarna helped pioneer BNPL, allowing customers to pay for online purchases in installments. Once valued at $45.6 billion in 2021, Klarna saw its worth slump to $6.7 billion in 2022 amid inflation and higher rates. The IPO signals a rebound as investors reassess BNPL’s role in a consumer market strained by sticky inflation and slowing income growth.

Klarna’s U.S. rival Affirm holds a $29 billion valuation and reported a much higher average order value of $276, compared with Klarna’s $101. While Affirm targets larger purchases with longer financing, Klarna has focused on short-term, smaller-ticket loans.

Chief Financial Officer Niclas Neglén called the IPO “an opportunity for new shareholders, our 111 million consumers and others to really partake in that journey to disrupt the financial services industry.”

The IPO may act as a bellwether for BNPL’s prospects. As analyst Brian Jacobsen put it: “Klarna’s IPO will be a thermometer, showing how hot, or not, investors think BNPL will be.”

JPMorgan to Charge Fintech Firms for Access to Customer Bank Data, Bloomberg Reports

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JPMorgan Chase is planning to start charging fintech companies for access to its customers’ bank account data, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The U.S.’s largest bank has sent pricing proposals to data aggregators — intermediaries that connect banks with fintech platforms — outlining fees that may vary depending on the use case. Payment-focused fintech firms are expected to face higher charges.

A JPMorgan spokesperson stated the bank has invested heavily in building a secure system to protect customer data. The spokesperson added that JPMorgan is engaging with industry players to ensure necessary investments are made in infrastructure that safeguards customer information.

This move could disrupt payment app companies that currently rely on free access to customer financial data to facilitate transactions. Following the news, shares of major payment firms fell sharply: PayPal dropped 6.3%, Block fell 5.6%, while Visa and Mastercard declined around 2.8% and 2.9%, respectively.

The fees are expected to be implemented later this year but remain subject to negotiation, according to Bloomberg.

In the broader regulatory context, U.S. banking giants like JPMorgan are advocating for lighter regulations under President Donald Trump’s administration, in contrast to the stricter capital requirements imposed during the Biden administration.

J.P. Morgan Revises Stablecoin Growth Forecast, Cuts Projections by Half

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J.P. Morgan has lowered its forecast for the stablecoin market, predicting growth to reach only $500 billion by 2028—half the size projected by some analysts. The investment bank called trillion-dollar estimates “far too optimistic,” citing limited mainstream adoption of dollar-pegged stablecoins beyond crypto trading.

While stablecoins have attracted fintechs and banks seeking faster payments and settlements, their actual use in everyday transactions remains minimal. J.P. Morgan estimates that stablecoin payments account for just 6% of demand, roughly $15 billion, with the majority of activity concentrated in crypto trading, decentralized finance, and collateral usage.

This cautious outlook contrasts sharply with earlier projections from Standard Chartered, which expected the market to grow to $2 trillion by 2028, and Bernstein, which forecasted a $4 trillion market over the next decade.

J.P. Morgan noted several challenges limiting stablecoin adoption outside crypto markets, including a lack of broad use cases, fragmented regulation, and the global focus on national digital currencies or improvements to existing payment systems.

In line with this trend, China’s central bank continues to promote the digital yuan (e-CNY) for international use, while Ant Group—Alibaba’s affiliate—plans to seek a license for stablecoin issuance in Hong Kong. However, J.P. Morgan emphasized that the success of platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay, or the rise of the e-CNY, do not necessarily predict stablecoin expansion.

“The idea that stablecoins will replace traditional money for everyday use is still far from reality,” the bank said.