Klarna is strengthening credit checks

Klarna, the “buy now, pay later” credit company, has unveiled important changes to its services in the UK.

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Klarna may be setting for a huge IPO in the near future. But first, the company intends to sidestep the increasingly volatile IPO market before going public.

“The volatility in the market right now makes me nervous to IPO, to be honest,” Siemiatkowski said in September. “I think it would be nice to IPO when it’s a little bit more sound. And right now it doesn’t feel really sound out there.”

Klarna even changed the name of its main product to “pay now” option alongside its offers to spread payments over several weeks or months.

These changes in the UK will bring it in line with other countries where it operates.

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski conceded last month that the firm “could have done a better job” in the U.K. by focusing on areas other than credit.

“We firmly believe that most of the time, people should pay with the money they have, but there are certain times where credit makes sense,” Siemiatkowski said in a statement Monday.

“The changes we are announcing today mean that consumers are fully in control of their payments whether they pay now or pay later.”

Other promises include “stronger credit checks” and allowing customers to share income and spending data from their accounts via the UK’s open banking infrastructure, to prove they can afford repayments.

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It has removed late fees from its longer-term repayment plans of six months and over.