Klarna partners with Airbnb to offer flexible payment options

Guests in the US and Canada can now pay for their stays in four parts.

Klarna and Airbnb are partnering to provide flexible payment options for travellers in the US and Canada.

Customers will now be able to use Klarna’s ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) product to pay for their stays in four interest-fee instalments over the course of six weeks.

For visits over $500, guests in the US will also be able to pay monthly, and according to Klarna more markets will be added throughout the year 

"We know that one of the top requests from Airbnb guests was more options to pay for their stays, so we're super excited to offer interest-free payment options and support their mission to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere,”  Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said.

Airbnb joins Klarna’s ecosystem of 500,000 partners globally as the company looks to expand into travel and experiences.

Positioning itself as more than just a BNPL service, Klara recently unveiled plans for a suite of AI-powered tools and creator-focused features as it looks to establish itself as a “retail bank, payments and shopping service”.

The new products and tools include an ‘Ask Klarna personal shopper service, a discovery feed powered by in-house developed AI providing personalised product recommendations and in-app ‘Creator Shops’.