Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has defended a landmark U.S. deal with DoorDash after users flocked to social media to deride the potential of hungry customers taking 4 months to pay off a $15 dinner delivery.
The Swedish fintech group announced last Thursday that it had agreed to a landmark payments deal with U.S. delivery giant DoorDash to allow users more options to pay for their food delivery. That includes delaying payment until the day your paycheck lands in your account, or via Klarna’s famous “pay in four” installment option.
“By offering smarter, more flexible payment solutions for groceries, takeout, and retail essentials, we’re making convenience even more accessible for millions of Americans,” David Sykes, Klarna’s chief commercial officer, said during the announcement.
The deal quickly became the subject of jokes and derision online, as many questioned the logic of using the financing option—typically intended for more expensive, longer-lasting products—for something as trivial and short-lasting as a burrito.
They are called C.D.O.s
— gaut (@0xgaut) March 22, 2025
Collateralized Doordash Obligations pic.twitter.com/zbkds7pbb4
Users were quick to compare the deal to historic tales of investor greed, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Wolf of Wall Street and Ryan Gosling’s The Big Short, a portrayal of the mortgage-backed securities crisis that set off the global financial crash of 2007–2008.
Excited to announce that I closed on a $31.38 transaction to secure a burrito and side of chips
— Chase Passive Income (@chasedownleads) March 20, 2025
20-year senior fixed rate financing was provided by Klarna
DoorDash provided delivery of the asset
Congratulations to all involved pic.twitter.com/u0DPMHlS8K
Siemiatkowski, a frequent poster on X, is almost certain to have seen the many memes inspired by his company’s deal with DoorDash. Indeed, they are most likely the motivation behind a post on Friday explaining the deal.
“Klarna offers many payment methods” that U.S. customers will discover, Siemiatkowski wrote on X. That included paying with Klarna’s wallet in full in addition to its delayed payment and installment options.
“DoorDash offers many products beyond food!
“I know we are most famous for pay in 4. But you can use a credit card at DoorDash as well,” Siemiatkowski said.
Buy Now Pay Later’s (BPNL) proponents say the model has revolutionized how customers pay for their products, removing frictions and providing a better alternative to credit cards, which come with interest fees.
However, the much-lauded reduction in payment friction has also helped to draw comparisons with the subprime mortgage crisis of the 2000s, when homeowners with poor credit scores began defaulting on their mortgages.
U.S. regulators are scrutinizing BNPL companies in a move that could see them treated like credit card providers. Credit cards are a highly popular form of payment in the United States, but Klarna highlights interest-free lending and a much lower average outstanding balance on Klarna accounts among the reasons it doesn’t deserve the same level of scrutiny.
what do you mean you have $11k in "doordash debt" pic.twitter.com/pu1h8GqdZg
— adam 🇺🇸 (@personofswag) March 20, 2025
DoorDash will be charged a merchant fee to use Klarna’s services, with the hope that increased payment flexibility will offset the losses from those charges to Klarna.
Klarna’s “eat now, pay later” option has already been integrated by other delivery firms, including U.K.-based Deliveroo, which has provided a Klarna payment option since 2022.
The fintech company also partnered with Uber and Uber Eats to allow customers in Sweden and Germany more options to pay for their taxi rides and food deliveries in interest-free installments.
The DoorDash deal is the latest move in the company’s expansion to the U.S., where it filed confidentially for an IPO last November at a reported valuation of $15 billion.
