Klarna launches browser extension with payments and coupons
Fintech startup Klarna is launching a desktop browser extension that provides many of the features that you can find in the company’s mobile app — but on your computer. In addition to the ability to manage your Klarna payments, the extension automatically applies coupon codes when you’re on a checkout page.
Klarna has acquired Piggy for the automatic couponing feature. Piggy originally built a browser extension that surfaces coupons and cashback offers when you purchase something — FinanceFWD first reported the acquisition and Klarna isn’t disclosing the terms of the deal.
This is an interesting move from Klarna as PayPal acquired Honey for $4 billion. Honey has also built a browser extension that helps you apply coupon codes on the checkout page. In other words, PayPal and Klarna are competing to build the dominant shopping browser extension.
Existing Piggy users will migrate to the new Klarna extension. They can choose to migrate their existing Piggy data or start from scratch with a new Klarna account. Overall, 70 employees were working for Piggy and the startup had 1.2 million users before the acquisition. They are joining Klarna and are now working on integrating Piggy’s couponing features with the rest of Klarna’s product offering.
In addition to the coupon aggregation feature, users can also accumulate cashback or gift cards depending on the country. Users in the U.S. and Germany will be able to get rewards in the form of cashback while users in the U.K. and France will receive gift cards.
But Klarna’s newly launched extension isn’t just a Honey-like extension. It’s also a way to buy now and pay later (BNPL) with Klarna — the startup is better known for its installment payment product after all. Right now, there are different ways to take advantage of Klarna’s ability to spread the cost of an expensive purchase.
If you’re on an online store with a Klarna button on the checkout page, you can log in with your Klarna account and choose to pay later — users can also use their account to pay now.
It also offers BNPL options for in-store purchases. In some markets, Klarna also offers a card that lets you pay up to 30 days later. It works both online and in-store.
But what if you want to buy now and pay later on an online store that doesn’t natively support Klarna? You can open their mobile app and generate a one-time card on the checkout page. It works like a regular Visa card, but it’ll charge your card over multiple installments.
The newly launched extension lets you generate one-time cards from your desktop browser. You can then copy and paste the card details in the payment field when you’re ready to pay.
The mobile app and browser extension should remain in sync. For instance, you can save an item from your computer and track it from their mobile app. Right now, the extension works in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
The company plans to launch an extension for Firefox and Safari as well. Users in the U.S., the U.K., Germany and France can download the extension. It’ll be rolled out in more countries later.
With this newly launched product, Klarna shows once again that it wants to build a consumer product and not just a B2B payment business. PayPal has been the clear leader in the digital wallet space. So it’s going to be interesting to see whether Klarna can challenge PayPal and become a habit for consumers when they’re paying online.
Source: TechCrunch
