Voices from Klarna
Read opinion pieces and listen to interviews with Klarna spokespeople about the Swedish credit market.
Something is wrong with Sweden’s credit market
Swedes currently owe SEK 138 billion in debts registered with the Swedish Enforcement Authority. Around 440,000 people are on its register. But where does all this debt actually come from?
Here’s the truth behind the figures, and the difference between shopping online and falling into a debt trap.
The unsecured loan bubble is driving over-indebtedness in Sweden
Consumers in Sweden have endless opportunities to take out large, unsecured loans in minutes. Many lenders’ business models revolve around letting you “consolidate your loans” into new, even more expensive unsecured loans with long repayment terms. This has created a multibillion-krona bubble that is now starting to burst.
Swedes have more than SEK 250 billion in unsecured loans (Source: Swedish Government/SCB).
As a result, the value of payment order applications submitted to the Swedish Enforcement Authority has risen by 53.5% over the past two years (2022 – 2024). Over the same period, a group of competing payment providers and unsecured loan companies (Qliro, Svea, Resurs, and Collector/Walley) increased the value of their claims with the Swedish Enforcement Authority by a combined 40 percent.
Meanwhile, Klarna, which doesn’t offer unsecured loans or revolving credit, reduced the value of its claims by 35 percent.
The picture quickly becomes clear when you look at the total value of payment order applications that unsecured loan brokers submit to the Swedish Enforcement Authority each year. These brokers refer enormous sums for debt collection annually. In 2025, payment order applications worth more than SEK 35 billion were submitted to the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
The difference between online purchases and unsecured loans
The risk of over-indebtedness rises dramatically when you compare the amounts involved. The average purchase with Klarna is 802 kr. The average unsecured loan is 107,000 kr. And the average debt registered with the Swedish Enforcement Authority is 285,500 kr.
Klarna handles around half of all online purchases in Sweden, yet accounts for just 1.2 percent of the total value of payment order applications submitted to the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
A 2025 analysis by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and the Swedish Enforcement Authority confirms where the real problem lies. Unsecured loans from niche banks account for 60% of the loan debt registered with the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
Problem loans are worryingly common – but not at Klarna
The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority’s Bankbarometern Q2 2025 report places Klarna in the consumer credit company category. This broad group also includes providers of competing payment solutions and unsecured loan providers such as Entercard, Northmill, Resurs Bank, Svea Bank, and Qliro, as well as ICA Banken and Ikano Bank.
According to Bankbarometern Q2 2025, 8–9% of the total loan volume held by consumer credit companies is now classified as problem loans*. That figure is alarmingly high.
The difference between problem loans and cases referred to Kronofogden
To understand the figures, we first need to clarify the terminology. The chart shows the share of problem loans.
Problem loans, also known as non-performing loans (NPL), are loans where the customer is more than 90 days late with a payment, or where there is a risk that the loan will not be repaid. This is the standard measure used to assess a bank’s financial health.
Peer group average: About 8–9% problem loans.
Klarna: About 1% problem loans.
It’s important to distinguish between Finansinspektionens’ definition of problem loans and payment orders sent to Kronofogden (about 0.03% for Klarna).
Many of our industry peers push the average share of problem loans up to 8–9% by taking significant risks when issuing expensive unsecured loans. Klarna, meanwhile, maintains the same low levels as the major traditional banks (about 1%).
We’re grouped with other consumer credit companies in the statistics, but have significantly fewer problem loans because we give our customers the right conditions to repay.
99.97% of purchases made with Klarna are repaid
The myth that shopping with Klarna leads straight to debt simply doesn’t reflect reality. Our statistics speak for themselves:
98% pay on time.
1.6% pay after a reminder.
0.43% are sent to debt collection (where most customers pay).
Only 0.03% are referred to Kronofogden.
More time, less hassle – how we saved Swedish consumers SEK 1 billion a year
Four years ago, we made a series of changes to give our customers better conditions. We removed revolving credit (so-called never-ending credit with no end date), introduced more friendly reminders, and doubled the payment period to 30 days.
The result? More customers pay on time, and fewer end up in debt collection. That’s good for consumers, good for retailers, and good for us.
Dive into the data
Below, we’ve brought together articles for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the Swedish credit market, to look beyond the headlines and examine misleading industry standards.