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E-Commerce · head to head

Klarna vs Modern Treasury

Klarna logo

Klarna

E-Commerce

Buy now pay later and instalment checkout for online and in-store merchants

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Modern Treasury logo

Modern Treasury

Accounting

Payment operations and ledger infrastructure that sits between your product and your own bank accounts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Klarna merchant fees for the short-term products run around 5.99% plus a fixed fee in the United States, roughly double a standard card rate, so unless Klarna measurably lifts average order value or conversion it is a straight margin loss.; Modern Treasury you must already have or be able to obtain your own bank accounts with the right connectivity, so early stage companies without a banking relationship cannot use it and are pushed towards a sponsor bank model instead.
  • They diverge on capability: Klarna covers Pay in 4, Modern Treasury covers Multi-rail payment initiation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Klarna and Modern Treasury actually diverge.

Attributes where Klarna and Modern Treasury differ
AttributeKlarnaModern Treasury
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategoryE-CommerceAccounting

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Klarna

  • Pay in 4
  • Pay in 30 days
  • Longer-term financing
  • Klarna app placement
  • Klarna Checkout
  • In-store payments
  • On-site messaging
  • Merchant portal

Only in Modern Treasury

  • Multi-rail payment initiation
  • Bank connectivity
  • Ledgers
  • Automatic reconciliation
  • Approval workflows
  • Virtual accounts
  • Compliance tooling
  • Return and exception handling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Klarna

  • A fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basketnot Modern Treasury
  • A merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkoutnot Modern Treasury
  • A European retailer wanting a single hosted checkout that handles instalments, invoice and card in one flownot Modern Treasury
  • A brand that wants distribution inside Klarna's shopping app as an acquisition channel rather than only a payment optionnot Modern Treasury

Modern Treasury

  • A marketplace paying out to thousands of sellers that needs a ledger its application can trust rather than reconciling a payments dashboard by handnot Klarna
  • A lender originating and servicing loans that must track disbursements, repayments and returns against its own bank accountsnot Klarna
  • A company that wants to move off a banking as a service provider and hold its own bank accounts after seeing sponsor banks offboard fintech programmesnot Klarna
  • An insurer handling premium collection and claims payment across several rails with approval controls and an auditable trailnot Klarna

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Klarna

  • Merchant fees for the short-term products run around 5.99% plus a fixed fee in the United States, roughly double a standard card rate, so unless Klarna measurably lifts average order value or conversion it is a straight margin loss.
  • Rates are negotiated and unpublished, which means small merchants pay the standard rate while large ones negotiate down, and you cannot benchmark what you are being charged without going to market.
  • Returns and partial refunds are handled through Klarna's systems rather than your payment processor, so your finance team reconciles a second settlement flow and customer service handles a second dispute process.
  • Buy now pay later is being brought under consumer credit regulation in the UK, the EU and Australia, which is already changing affordability checks and disclosures; the checkout experience that converts today may be legally required to add friction.
  • Klarna owns the post-purchase relationship, sending payment reminders and marketing in its own name, so a shopper who has a poor collections experience associates it with your brand while you have no control over the messaging.

Modern Treasury

  • You must already have or be able to obtain your own bank accounts with the right connectivity, so early stage companies without a banking relationship cannot use it and are pushed towards a sponsor bank model instead.
  • Pricing rests on an annual minimum commitment, and companies that miss their volume forecast pay the minimum regardless, which makes the headline per-transaction rate close to irrelevant in year one.
  • Supported bank connectivity is a finite list, so if your bank is not on it you are either waiting for an integration or changing banks, which is a far larger project than adopting the software.
  • It is software over banking, not banking, so it does not solve card issuing, deposit accounts or the licensing questions that a company embedding financial products still has to answer elsewhere.
  • The ledger is genuinely good but adopting it properly means making it the source of truth for balances in your product, which is a significant application change rather than a payments integration and is where implementations run long.

Pricing, plan by plan

Klarna

On request
  • Klarna for Business$undefined/year
    • Per-transaction percentage plus a fixed fee, negotiated by merchant
    • No published rate card; rates vary by market, product and volume
    • Short-term products priced materially above card interchange

Modern Treasury

On request
  • Modern Treasury Platform$undefined/year
    • Platform access fee covering API, dashboard, infrastructure and support
    • Usage-based fees across ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow, push to card, cheques and stablecoins
    • A single annual minimum commitment that both platform and usage fees count towards

Which should you pick?

Choose Klarna if

  • You need pay in 4.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want pay in 30 days.
Klarna review

Choose Modern Treasury if

  • You need multi-rail payment initiation.
  • You also want bank connectivity.
Modern Treasury review

Questions people ask

Is Klarna or Modern Treasury better?
Neither clearly leads. Klarna starts at On request and Modern Treasury at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Klarna or Modern Treasury?
Klarna starts at On request and Modern Treasury at On request.
Does Klarna or Modern Treasury run on more platforms?
Klarna runs on Web, iOS, Android. Modern Treasury runs on Web.
What is Klarna best used for?
Klarna is most often used for a fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basket, a merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkout, a european retailer wanting a single hosted checkout that handles instalments, invoice and card in one flow, a brand that wants distribution inside klarna's shopping app as an acquisition channel rather than only a payment option. Of those, a fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basket and a merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkout are not what Modern Treasury is typically brought in for.
What can Klarna do that Modern Treasury cannot?
Klarna covers Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days, Longer-term financing, Klarna app placement. Modern Treasury covers Multi-rail payment initiation, Bank connectivity, Ledgers, Automatic reconciliation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Klarna: What does Klarna cost a merchant?

Klarna does not publish a rate card. In the United States most merchants pay around 5.99% plus $0.30 for short-term products, with longer-term financing nearer 3.29% plus $0.30, and large merchants negotiate lower.

Modern Treasury: Is Modern Treasury a bank or a banking as a service provider?

Neither. You hold your own bank accounts and it is software over them. That avoids sponsor bank concentration risk but means you need the bank relationship yourself.

Klarna: Does the merchant carry the credit risk?

No. Klarna pays the merchant the full amount less fees and takes the risk of the shopper not paying.

Modern Treasury: What does it cost?

Not published. A platform access fee plus usage fees across rails, on an annual term with a single minimum commitment. Negotiate the minimum, not the per-transaction rate.

Klarna: Can I use Klarna alongside my existing processor?

Yes. It is normally added as an additional payment method through Shopify, Adyen, Stripe or a direct integration rather than replacing your card acquirer.

Modern Treasury: Which rails are supported?

ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow, push to card, cheques and stablecoin payments, subject to what your bank supports.

Klarna: Is Klarna still independent?

Yes. It listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2025 and holds a Swedish banking licence.

Modern Treasury: Do we still need our own compliance programme?

Yes. KYB, KYC and transaction monitoring are included in the platform, but you are the one holding the accounts and the regulatory obligation sits with you and your bank.

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