Swedish payment company Klarna, which offers customers the option of paying for purchases later, has been fined half a billion kronor (43 million euros) in Sweden for violating anti-money laundering rules.
According to the Swedish financial supervisor, Klarna’s working methods showed “significant shortcomings” in the overall risk assessment. For example, the bank had failed to evaluate how its products and services could be misused for money laundering or terrorist financing.
“It is important to counter the risk that the company’s activities are misused by criminals,” supervisor Finansinspektionen said in a statement. The regulator investigated Klarna’s activities between April 2021 and the end of March 2022.
Klarna is one of the best-known payment apps, which allows customers to pay for their purchases later or in installments. The company is working with the Dutch payment processor Adyen to also offer this payment option in physical stores.
