Klarna does run a credit check, but it’s a soft one on every product it offers, so using Klarna will not create a hard inquiry on your credit report or lower your score at the point of purchase.1Klarna US. Does Klarna Perform a Credit Check and Will This Affect My Credit Score What can affect your credit is what happens after the purchase: Klarna reports some loan activity to the credit bureaus, and the rules differ depending on which payment option you chose.
Soft Check on Every Klarna Purchase
Pay in 4, Pay in 30, and monthly financing (Pay over time) all use a soft credit check.1Klarna US. Does Klarna Perform a Credit Check and Will This Affect My Credit Score The soft check lets Klarna verify your identity and look at your basic financial information without filing a formal credit application. Because there is no formal application, the inquiry stays off the version of your credit report that other lenders see.
Klarna makes a fresh approval decision at every checkout, even if you were approved for a previous purchase.2Klarna US. How Can I Get Approved to Pay With Klarna Each transaction triggers a new soft check. A weekend of Klarna purchases will not pile up visible inquiries the way multiple hard pulls would.
The third-party credit checks go through TransUnion.1Klarna US. Does Klarna Perform a Credit Check and Will This Affect My Credit Score If a Klarna-related entry ever shows up on your TransUnion report, it should appear as a soft inquiry only. You’ll see it when you pull your own report; mortgage lenders, card issuers, and other reviewers will not.
What Klarna Reports to the Credit Bureaus
The soft check itself won’t move your score. Klarna’s reporting of your payment behavior is a separate question, and the answer depends on which product you used.
Pay in 4, Pay in 30, and the Klarna Card
Klarna shares nothing with the credit bureaus about Pay in 4, Pay in 30, or Klarna Card activity.3Klarna US. Does Klarna Report to Credit Bureaus On-time payments on these products will not build your credit, and missed payments will not damage it through bureau reporting. Klarna may still charge late fees and restrict your account internally.
Monthly Financing (Pay Over Time)
Klarna’s monthly financing option, spread over 6 to 24 months, is different. For term loans opened on or after November 1, 2024, Klarna reports the loan and payment activity to TransUnion.4Klarna International. Klarna Will Begin Sharing Term Loan Data With Credit Bureaus That reporting covers:
- On-time payments, sent to TransUnion and visible on your credit file
- Overdue payments, sent to TransUnion, with late payments and defaults also shared with Experian3Klarna US. Does Klarna Report to Credit Bureaus
- Defaults, reported to both TransUnion and Experian
Klarna has said this data does not currently affect FICO or VantageScore calculations and is only visible to the consumer on their own report. Klarna has also indicated that term loan reporting may factor into credit scores in the future, and that lenders may eventually be able to see this payment history.4Klarna International. Klarna Will Begin Sharing Term Loan Data With Credit Bureaus So if you’re financing over months rather than weeks, treat the loan like any other installment account you’d want to keep in good standing.
How Klarna Decides Whether to Approve You
Klarna does not publish a minimum credit score for any of its products.2Klarna US. How Can I Get Approved to Pay With Klarna An automated system evaluates each checkout individually, weighing your credit score, credit history, and outstanding debt using data pulled from the bureaus. Being declined once does not lock you out; the next attempt gets its own decision.
Klarna also tracks how you behave inside its own platform. Your “Purchase Power,” an internal estimate of how much you can spend, rises when you pay on time and falls when you carry a high balance.5Klarna US. How Much Am I Eligible to Spend Overdue or failed payments drop your Purchase Power to zero until the balances are settled. There is no fixed limit; the amount you can spend shifts with each transaction.
If Klarna declines a purchase, a pop-up at checkout explains the reason.6Klarna US. Why Was My Purchase Not Approved With Klarna Customer service agents cannot override the automated decision. Paying down outstanding debt, both inside and outside Klarna, and giving your credit profile time to improve can raise your chances next time.5Klarna US. How Much Am I Eligible to Spend
Soft vs. Hard Inquiries
Since no Klarna transaction produces a hard inquiry, none of them will show up on the version of your report other lenders review. The distinction still matters when you’re weighing Klarna against a store card or personal loan, which typically do require a hard pull.
A hard inquiry happens when you formally apply for credit and the lender requests your full credit report.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S.C. 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for up to two years, though FICO only factors in inquiries from the prior 12 months.8Experian. How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report A single hard pull typically lowers your score by five points or fewer.9Experian. How Many Points Does an Inquiry Drop Your Credit Score
A soft inquiry is visible only to you and has no effect on your score. Soft checks happen when a lender pre-screens you for an offer, when you check your own credit, and when a buy-now-pay-later service like Klarna verifies your eligibility at checkout.