Columbus, OH – Klarna, the largest payments company in Europe, today announced it has chosen the Columbus Region as launch pad for its U.S. expansion. Klarna has committed to bring at least 82 new jobs to the Region.
“Columbus is at the heart of retail and e-commerce activity in the U.S., and a perfect launch pad for our U.S. expansion,” said Brian Billingsley, chief executive officer, Klarna North America. “Over the coming years, we will invest at least $100 million into the U.S. roll-out of Klarna’s solution that simplifies buying online.”
Klarna will provide the same back-end retail services in the U.S. that it provides across 15 markets in Europe, where it currently supports more than 25 million users and 45,000 retailers. When making an online purchase with Klarna Checkout, consumers enter only top-of-mind information like an email address and zip code to buy an item. From there, Klarna assumes all the risk from the purchase transaction, pays the retailer immediately, and collects the amount due from the consumer within 14 days.
One of Europe’s fastest growing companies, Sweden-based Klarna plans to move into temporary space at 274 Marconi Blvd. in the Arena District while confirming its permanent location.
With this announcement, Klarna will make an initial investment of $300,000 into office build-out. The company’s financial commitment will go toward purchasing a new facility and equipment, as well as investing in IT infrastructure and workforce training. In addition, the e-commerce company is committed to hiring 82 employees, with positions including designers, computer engineers, sales associates, implementation consultants and customer service by the end of 2017. Hiring will begin immediately.
“Klarna’s decision to launch its U.S. expansion in the Columbus Region means 82 high-paying jobs and one of the world’s most respected e-commerce companies are coming to Central Ohio,” said Mark Patton, senior managing director for information technology, JobsOhio. “We and our partners at Columbus 2020 look forward to working closely with Klarna as the company initiates its operations and grows here in Ohio.”