BANKS moan incessantly about over- regulation. Yet their banking licences come with perks: in most places only licensed institutions can accept deposits and offer current accounts; within the EU, “passporting” means a bank licensed in one country may operate across the single market. So some European financial-technology (“fintech”) upstarts have started to seek banking licences. On June 19th, Klarna, a Swedish payments firm valued at $2.25bn, became the latest—and the largest so far—to get one.
European fintech firms have various reasons for seeking approval as a bank. Bunq, a Dutch firm and one of the first to get a licence, started out in payments, like Klarna, but expanded to deposit accounts. Some, like N26 in Germany or Atom Bank in Britain, sought to be full-service, online retail banks from the outset. Others, such as ClearBank, a new British clearing and settlement bank, want to offer services to other firms.
Of those focused on the retail market, Klarna...Continue reading
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