Klarna, a financial service best known for its Buy Now, Pay Later app, just announced it’s launching a new debit card with BNPL features.

“We consistently hear from consumers that they want the freedom to choose how and when to pay — whether that’s paying now with debit or spreading the cost over time,” David Sandstrom, chief marketing officer at Klarna, said in the press release.

This isn’t the BNPL service’s first foray into the cards territory. Klarna launched the Klarna Credit Card, a no-annual-fee card that works more like a charge card in 2022 and issued a US version in 2024. 

With its new debit card offering, users will be able to load funds onto the card and use it like a debit card, or access a Buy Now, Pay Later plan. BNPL plans are typically popular as an alternative to credit cards, but the Klarna Card seems to be combining debit, credit and payment plans into a single card. 

The company said in the press release that it’s currently testing the product in the US with plans for a wider rollout in the US and Europe later this year. Here’s what we know so far about it.

How the Klarna debit card works

The new product will offer a mix features of both a credit card and a debit card. 

You can load funds onto the Klarna Card and use it like you would a standard debit card, but you’re able to select if you want to finance a purchase at the point of sale by using either Klarna’s Pay in 4 or Pay Later plan. 

Klarna told CNET that there will be a $1-$3 charge for using Pay in 4 which will be added to your down payment. 

If you’re going to use BNPL, I’d recommend not opting for the Pay in 4 option with the Klarna card, since others like Afterpay, Affirm and Klarna itself don’t charge you money to initiate a BNPL installment plan that’s paid off in four payments.

Anyone can be approved for the Klarna Card and use it as a debit card without any credit check required. However, if you want to finance a purchase with a BNPL plan, you’ll undergo a soft credit check at the time of purchase. That may cause a slowdown at the register, but we’ll see. Klarna also confirmed your activity won’t be reported to credit bureaus at this time. 

The Klarna Card will also work on Visa’s Flexible Credential program, which allows you to save multiple forms of payment behind one credential, locked with your biometric. It acts like a payment hub with all of your eligible payment methods.

Are Klarna’s cash back rewards worth it?

Once the card is fully released, it will offer a free tier and two paid tiers, according to the press release. The paid tiers — Member and Plus — will cost $3.49 and $7.99 monthly, respectively, and will include merchant discounts and cash-back rewards.

Member

• 2.82% APY on Klarna balance
• 1% cash back when you pay in full with your Klarna balance
• 2x rewards on Pay-in-4 at non-integrated partners

Plus

• 3.22% APY on Klarna balance
• 2% cash back when you pay in full with your Klarna balance
• 10x rewards on Pay-in-4 at non-integrated partners

If you’re after cash-back rewards, you don’t have to pay for them. Many credit cards offer cash-back rewards for free — as long as you pay your bill in full each month — and some debit cards like the Discover Cashback Debit card also come with rewards for no monthly fee. Depending on the cash-back rate, the tier’s fees might even wipe out any value you’d get from them.

It’s nice that Klarna lets you earn a fairly competitive APY on your balance — the 3.22% APY the Plus tier offers is similar to many top high-yield savings accounts right now — but having to pay $7.99 a month for this APY is a steep price. For reference, if you deposited $250 a month into your Klarna account and didn’t spend it, you’d have $3,000 at the end of the year. You’d earn approximately $44 in interest (depending on how often it’s compounded). But you’d have paid nearly $96 a year for this card. 

How to sign up for the Klarna debit card

The company is currently trialing the Klarna debit card in the US. Once it’s fully available, Klarna confirmed that you’ll be able to sign up to use it immediately and won’t be added to a wait list.