Klarna enters £7 billion UK gift card market with launch of Gift Card Store

Klarna, the AI powered global payments network and shopping destination, has partnered with Blackhawk Network (BHN), a leading global branded payments provider, to launch Klarna’s Gift Card Store in the UK. This gives customers the ability to buy gift cards from an extensive selection of brands and pay for them using Klarna’s range of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) products and instant debit option, Pay Now.

Within the Klarna app, UK shoppers will be able to buy gift cards from a range of merchants, with more being added every week. Gift Card Store also provides a simple mechanism to send gift cards to friends and family, including options to include a personalised note and scheduled delivery.

This marks Klarna’s first move into the £7 billion UK gift card market, which is predicted to rise to nearly £9 billion in 2025, according to the Gift Card & Voucher Association. With digital gift cards now sharing over 50 percent of this market, Klarna’s gift card solutions include a barcode which enables consumers to redeem their cards both digitally and in-store.

The UK launch of Gift Card Store, follows a successful launch in the US last year. Klarna is planning to roll the Gift Card Store out to more European markets by the end of 2024.

Raji Behal, Head of Western and Southern Europe at Klarna, said: “Following the success of Gift Card Store in the US, we are super excited to see its roll out in the UK. Gift cards are a staple of gift-giving in the UK and help drive business to retailers large and small. We can’t wait for UK shoppers to discover the convenience of Gift Card Store in the run up to Christmas.”

Anna Uprichard, VP of Commerce at Blackhawk Network (BHN), said, “We predict that the gift now, pay later emerging trend is set to grow, with our 2024 Global Gifting research showing 15 percent of consumers that purchased a gift card, did so through Klarna . By combining our global network of brands and retailers in branded payments with Klarna’s innovative payment solutions, the partnership provides consumers a convenient and flexible way to purchase gift cards. This is especially important as we approach the biggest gift card buying period, Christmas”

Image couretsy of Pexels. Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki.