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This reminds me how Klarna fired their a large part of their customer support department to replace it with ai, only to eventually realize they couldn't do the

by svelle 1y ago

This reminds me how Klarna fired their a large part of their customer support department to replace it with ai, only to eventually realize they couldn't do the job primarily using ai and had to rehire a ton of people.

malfist 1y ago
That might have been their story, but Klarna is struggling to maintain their runway at the moment and that may have been the bigger driver
- vasco 1y ago
  You're not buying toilet paper and doritos in 12 easy payments?
- numpad0 1y ago
  OT: just googled that name, info panel on the right in my language settings categorizes it as "金融の連鎖", or "cascading of finances". am not sure how to take that.
  - LtWorf 1y ago
    Klarna is basically loan sharks but if you do it with an app is legal. Also Opera the browser moved to doing that.
    - nradov 1y ago
      In fairness to Klarna, the interest rates they charge are typically low or even zero. The problem is more that they're encouraging poor people to waste money on things they probably shouldn't buy in the first place, like expensive concert tickets or consumer electronics.
      - malfist 1y ago
        I used to work at a competitor to klarna so take this with a grain of salt, but the zero interest rates aren't really zero. They finance either by klarna eating into their runway, or by the business paying the interest up front. Which usually leads to higher prices for everyone, regardless of you using klarna or not
        krysp 1y ago
        That's only the case if demand is static. The parent comment mentions that "poor people buy more stuff" which is increased demand
  - shawabawa3 1y ago
    Pretty good description tbh Their business model is an online payment provider (like e.g. PayPal/apple pay) that splits the payment into 3, 6 or 12 monthly payments, usually at 0% interest The idea being that for the business the loss in revenue from an interest free loan is worth it if it causes an increase in sales
    - numpad0 1y ago
      But isn't it supposed to be more like "financing franchise"?

by svelle 1y ago

malfist 1y ago

That might have been their story, but Klarna is struggling to maintain their runway at the moment and that may have been the bigger driver

vasco 1y ago
You're not buying toilet paper and doritos in 12 easy payments?
numpad0 1y ago
OT: just googled that name, info panel on the right in my language settings categorizes it as "金融の連鎖", or "cascading of finances". am not sure how to take that.
- LtWorf 1y ago
  Klarna is basically loan sharks but if you do it with an app is legal. Also Opera the browser moved to doing that.
  - nradov 1y ago
    In fairness to Klarna, the interest rates they charge are typically low or even zero. The problem is more that they're encouraging poor people to waste money on things they probably shouldn't buy in the first place, like expensive concert tickets or consumer electronics.
    - malfist 1y ago
      I used to work at a competitor to klarna so take this with a grain of salt, but the zero interest rates aren't really zero. They finance either by klarna eating into their runway, or by the business paying the interest up front. Which usually leads to higher prices for everyone, regardless of you using klarna or not
      - krysp 1y ago
        That's only the case if demand is static. The parent comment mentions that "poor people buy more stuff" which is increased demand
- shawabawa3 1y ago
  Pretty good description tbh Their business model is an online payment provider (like e.g. PayPal/apple pay) that splits the payment into 3, 6 or 12 monthly payments, usually at 0% interest The idea being that for the business the loss in revenue from an interest free loan is worth it if it causes an increase in sales
  - numpad0 1y ago
    But isn't it supposed to be more like "financing franchise"?