As the financial health of more and more Dutch people comes under scrutiny, criticism of lenders such as Klarna is also growing. In response to the swelling criticism, the buy now pay later provider is launching Wikipink: a credit industry data hub with data on how Dutch consumers use Klarna's products.
The platform provides insight into detailed data on repayment rates, collections, defaults and consumer demographics.
"Wikipink not only provides insight into Klarna's performance, but is also a call to the entire financial industry to put consumer welfare above profit," explained Raji Behal (Head of Western & Southern Europe at Klarna).
"So far, no other consumer lender in the Netherlands has taken a similar step," Behal continued. "By making our data public, we aim to move toward a more ethical and transparent industry that offers consumers reliable payment options."
Among other things, the figures show that 8% of online payments are BNPL transactions; which would be lower than traditional forms of credit. The average order through Klarna would also be a lot lower at €88, where the average debt on revolving credit is €2,913. All in all, 97% of Klarna's BNPL purchases would be paid early or on time in the first half of 2023.
In addition, Wikipink's data shows that Gen Z (18 to 25) is only the second smallest customer segment. Nearly four in 10 people who pay with Klarna are millennials (26 to 41 years old); nearly 30 percent are Gen X (42 to 57 years old) and 20 percent are Gen Z .
The payment behavior of young people (Gen Z) would show that this group behaves just as responsibly as customers from other age groups when it comes to repaying loans on time.
See here (1) all data regarding Dutch Klarna users.
