Does Klarna perform a credit check and will this affect my credit score?

Yes, we perform a credit check. Klarna evaluates your ability to pay by assessing available data to ensure responsible lending.

As a responsible lender, we want to ensure we’re helping you make the right financial decisions for your circumstances. When a credit check is performed, we verify your identity using the details you provided and we look at information from your credit report to understand your financial behaviour and evaluate your creditworthiness.

We will not perform a credit check when:

We will perform a soft credit check when you:

Soft credit checks do not affect your credit score and will not be visible to other lenders.

Our credit checks are performed by the credit reference agencies TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. As a regulated lender, we're legally required to report Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 days payment data to these agencies. If you have questions about their services, your credit score, or the data shared as part of a credit check, contact the credit reference agencies directly. Credit checks are performed in accordance with Klarna’s Terms & Conditions.

Borrowing more than you can afford or paying late may negatively impact your financial status and ability to obtain credit, including with Klarna. Information such as payment holidays and existing, late and unpaid balances is visible on your credit file to other lenders. Making repayments on time consistently will help build a positive history when using our payment options.

Good to know: Mortgage lenders could possibly include your monthly Buy Now Pay Later commitments as part of their affordability checks.