Klarna eyes growth in Australia and New Zealand

Swedish buy now, pay later specialist Klarna has appointed Francine Ereira as General Manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Ereira starts next month and will be responsible for the company’s launch and growth in the aforementioned countries. She previously worked at Zip Co, an ASX-listed provider of payment and credit solutions to retailers both online and in-store, as General Manager - Sales & Solution Delivery.

In November, Klarna announced that it had secured over 60,000 new merchants globally during 2019, an increase of 140% compared to the full year of 2018.

Last year, Australian firm, Afterpay Touch Group, one of Klarna’s main rivals in the buy now, pay later space, made its first move into Europe with backing from Boohoo and Urban Outfitters. At the time, it said that four million-plus people were using Afterpay in the US, Australia and New Zealand.