Accelerating growth through cashback

Booking.com sought to increase engagement, traffic, and transaction volume through its Klarna partnership. Klarna Payments was already delivering strong results across Europe and the U.S., and the next step was to expand the collaboration with

However, Booking.com’s margin-based affiliate model and Klarna’s cashback structure operate differently. A tailored integration was required to align the two systems and unlock incremental growth.

Klarna’s cashback team developed a custom payout mechanism that redirected a portion of Klarna’s commission back to shoppers as cashback rewards, enabling Booking.com to participate for the first time.

To maximize impact, Klarna activated:

• Premium cashback campaigns

• Merchant carrier emails

• Organic in-app placements, within Klarna’s app via “New to cashback” partner sections.

The collaboration unlocked new media placements across Klarna’s app and CRM channels, driving incremental affiliate growth.

The U.S. cashback campaign ran from August to October and delivered immediate impact. Within two months via Klarna app traffic, affiliate-attributed volume increased +94% YoY, orders rose +53%, and average order value grew +26%.

Supported by Booking.com’s expansion across connected trip verticals, and a seamless unified payment journey, the activation propelled Booking.com into the top 5 U.S. cashback merchants. They outperformed major travel and retail competitors, and demonstrated how Klarna cashback accelerates performance and strengthens long-term partnerships.