Former Klarna Director Rasmus Rolén Named CEO of Debt Consolidation Fintech, Plus1

WHY THIS MATTERS

The appointment of Rasmus Rolén as CEO of Plus1 signals a strategic pivot from a Nordic-focused “turnaround” lender to a high-velocity European fintech expansion. By recruiting a former Klarna Director and Avarda CEO, Plus1 is leveraging deep institutional knowledge of the “modern credit spiral.” This matters because European consumer debt is at a critical inflection point in 2026; the European Banking Authority has identified rising indebtedness—fueled by the 60% growth in invoice credit since 2020—as a systemic risk. Plus1’s model, which incentivizes responsible behavior by lowering interest rates every three months, aims to disrupt the traditional high-cost lending cycle that has trapped millions of households in what the company calls the “ostrich economy.”

With Swedish household debt exceeding €460 billion, the “Plus1” rebrand (from Nstart) reflects a move toward a more positive, outcome-oriented financial utility. Rolén’s immediate mandate to enter Germany, Poland, and Southern Europe is a direct response to the “BNPL hangover” affecting the continent. As consumers struggle with fragmented loans, Plus1’s ability to reduce monthly repayments by an average of €435 provides a tangible value proposition that scales beyond the Nordics. By merging Klarna-style seamlessness with sustainable debt management, Plus1 is positioning itself as the “responsible” counterweight to the aggressive credit expansion that has defined the last decade.

Plus1, the Swedish debt consolidation fintech that helps consumers combine multiple loans into single, lower-cost repayments, has appointed ex-Klarna Director Rasmus Rolén as Chief Executive Officer to lead its European expansion.  

This appointment comes at a crucial time for Plus1, a portfolio company under financial services venture builder and investor 0TO9, following its rebrand from Nstart last year. The fintech helps users cut their monthly repayments by an average of €435*. 

Plus1 is already operating in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway, with Rolén’s immediate focus to explore expanding into Germany, Poland, and Southern Europe. 

Strengthening European Consumer Credit 

Rolén’s time at Klarna, one of Europe’s most successful tech companies, shaped his understanding of modern credit. He led the biggest finance and analytics team at Klarna before becoming Chief Executive Officer of Avarda, which in 2024 merged with TF Bank, with the combined entity rebranded as Avarda Bank. As Chief Commercial Officer and a member of Executive Management, he oversaw the credit card and e-commerce segments across the Nordics, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Italy. 

Rolén’s priority is scaling Plus1 across Europe, bringing its debt consolidation model into new markets and expanding its customer base. His goal is to make sustainable debt consolidation accessible to the millions of Europeans currently stuck in high-cost credit arrangements and experiencing financial distress.  

Tackling the ‘Ostrich Economy’ 

Six-time fintech founder Oliver Hildebrandt built Plus1 to address what the company calls ‘strutsekonomi’ – Swedish for ‘ostrich economy’ – the pattern where households bury their heads in the sand on finances, postpone hard decisions, and watch fees and interest pile up.  

Sweden is among the most indebted consumer markets globally, with Swedish households carrying total debt exceeding €460 billion (SEK 5 trillion), of which around €93.5 billion (SEK 1 trillion) relates to non-mortgage debt. Roughly one-third of consumer credit customers received a debt collection notice in 2024, and new invoice credit grew 60% between 2020 and 2024 – twice the pace of household consumption. 

But this problem is not the preserve of Sweden alone. Last year, the European Banking Authority flagged consumer indebtedness as one of the three most pressing issues facing EU consumers, citing the growth of BNPL and short-term credit as a key driver. It is a trend not only Sweden but Europe as a whole has grappled with for over a decade, and one that Plus 1 is directly positioned to address at scale.  

Rasmus Rolén, CEO of Plus1, said: “After years of working within consumer credit, I’ve seen how quickly manageable debt can become a destructive spiral that people can’t escape. Oliver built Plus1 for the moments when life gets messy. There is a real market opportunity for products that put responsibility first. I’m joining to make resolving debt just as seamless as taking it on in the first place.” 

Oliver Hildebrandt, Founder of Plus1 and 0TO9, comments: “Since founding Plus1 over a decade ago, my focus has been on tackling the root causes of financial instability, not treating the symptoms. With Plus1, we’re building a market around sustainable repayment and genuine support, and Rasmus is the right leader to scale that vision across Europe.”

FF NEWS TAKE

Plus1 is attempting to prove that “debt consolidation” can be a high-growth, ethical fintech category rather than a predatory last resort. The hire of Rasmus Rolén is a masterstroke in terms of market credibility; bringing a veteran from the heart of the BNPL revolution to lead a debt-relief platform creates a powerful narrative of industry evolution. Plus1 isn’t just offering a loan; it’s building a “Shared Services Centre” for personal finance, integrating savings accounts and financial coaching to address the psychological barriers of the “ostrich economy.”

However, the challenge for Plus1 will be navigating the diverse regulatory and cultural credit landscapes of markets like Poland and Italy. While the Nordic model of transparency is a strong foundation, consumer behavior and debt collection laws vary significantly across the EU. To succeed, Rolén must maintain the company’s 100% year-on-year growth while ensuring that the “financial incentive” model—where rates drop as debt decreases—remains profitable in a fluctuating interest rate environment. If Plus1 can successfully scale its “sustainable credit” blueprint, it may set a new European standard for how fintechs can actively participate in the financial health of their users rather than just the volume of their transactions.