Southwest Adds Klarna – Digital Transactions
Southwest Airlines Co. is adding Klarna AB’s buy now, pay later options to its suite of payment methods. It’s the first time Southwest has accepted Klarna.
Expected to be available later this year, the Klarna BNPL option will supplement a Flexpay installment option Southwest already offers, a Klarna spokesperson says. Flexpay is owned by fintech Upgrade Inc. In addition to credit and debit cards, Southwest also accepts PayPal Holdings Inc. payments. PayPal offers its own BNPL option.
Southwest travelers will have the Klarna option on the Web site and in the Southwest app. Southwest is one of scores of travel companies that accept Klarna. Klarna’s online merchant directory lists 65 travel companies it works with, including online travel-booking sites and multiple airlines.
The potential is good for Klarna. Southwest had more than 134 million customers in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data, and the travel segment of BNPL is forecasted to grow to $38.2 billion in 2034 from $8.5 billion in 2025, says a research report from Market Intelo.
Perhaps best known for its BNPL services, Klarna has branched into other financial services. On Monday, it announced it was applying for a U.S. industrial bank charter that, if approved, would allow it to bring its banking products, including merchant services, in-house. Sweden-based Klarna has offered banking services in Europe since 2017.
