Klarna — buy now, pay later
Klarna is a buy now, pay later service that gives patients the option to spread the cost of treatments and products at checkout rather than paying the full amount upfront. This article explains how Klarna works in Glovora, what it costs you as a clinic, and how to manage it from the CRM.
What Klarna is and how it works for patients
When a patient reaches checkout in the Glovora patient app, they can choose Klarna as their payment method instead of paying by card. In the UK, Klarna offers two main options:
- Pay in 3 — the total is split into three equal instalments. The first is taken immediately at checkout; the second and third are collected automatically 30 and 60 days later.
- Pay in 30 days — the patient pays nothing at checkout and the full amount is collected 30 days after the purchase.
Klarna performs a brief eligibility check on the patient at the point of checkout. If approved, the patient selects their preferred repayment option and confirms the payment. From the patient's perspective, the experience feels much like a normal card payment — it takes only a few additional seconds.
What the clinic receives
Regardless of which Klarna repayment option the patient chooses, you receive the full transaction amount upfront through Stripe. You do not wait for the patient to complete their instalments. Stripe pays out your net amount (after the Klarna merchant fee) on your normal payout schedule, just as it does for card payments.
The patient's repayment schedule — when Klarna collects each instalment — is entirely between the patient and Klarna. It has no effect on your payout or your cash flow.
Because you are paid in full immediately, Klarna can encourage patients to book higher-value treatments they might otherwise hesitate over. The option to spread the cost sits with the patient; the commercial risk of non-repayment sits with Klarna, not with you.
How to enable Klarna
You do not need to take any action to enable Klarna. When Glovora creates your Stripe Express account during onboarding, it automatically requests Klarna capability on your behalf. Stripe then reviews the request and either approves or declines Klarna for your account.
The current status of Klarna on your account is shown on the Payouts page in the CRM, inside the Payment Settings card. The Klarna row shows one of four status badges.
Klarna status badges
| Badge | What it means |
|---|---|
| Active (green) | Stripe has approved Klarna for your account. Klarna appears as a payment option at checkout in the patient app. |
| Pending — Stripe is reviewing (amber) | Stripe received the Klarna request when your account was created and is still reviewing it. Klarna is not yet available at checkout. |
| Inactive (red) | Klarna is not enabled on your account. This may mean Stripe declined the request, or Klarna was disabled after previously being active. |
| Unknown (grey) | Glovora could not retrieve your Klarna status from Stripe at this time. Try refreshing the status from the Connections page. |
To check your Klarna status:
- In the sidebar, click Payouts under the Money group.
- Look at the Payment Settings card at the top of the page.
- Find the Klarna row and note the badge colour.
If the status is Pending and has shown that way for more than 5 business days after you completed Stripe onboarding, open your Stripe Express Dashboard (Connections page → Stripe card → Dashboard) and check whether Stripe has flagged any requirements or questions related to Klarna.
What Klarna costs the clinic
Klarna transactions are charged at a higher merchant rate than standard card payments. Stripe's published rate for UK Klarna transactions is:
4.99% + £0.35 per transaction
This is deducted by Stripe before the payout reaches your bank account, in the same way as card processing fees.
| Transaction amount | Klarna fee | Net payout |
|---|---|---|
| £50 | £2.85 | £47.15 |
| £100 | £5.34 | £94.66 |
| £200 | £10.33 | £189.67 |
| £500 | £25.30 | £474.70 |
For comparison, the standard UK card rate is 1.5% + 20p. On a £100 transaction, the card fee is £1.70 and the Klarna fee is £5.34 — a difference of £3.64.
Klarna's merchant fee is more than three times the standard card rate. If a large portion of your patients choose Klarna, the impact on your net revenue is meaningful. Keep an eye on your Stripe Express Dashboard to understand what proportion of your payments are being processed via Klarna versus card.
What patients see at checkout
When Klarna is active on your Stripe account, it appears automatically alongside the card payment option at checkout in the Glovora patient app. The patient taps Klarna and is presented with Klarna's payment screen, where they choose between Pay in 3 or Pay in 30 days.
Klarna promotional message on treatment screens
Each treatment in the CRM has a separate setting that controls whether a Klarna promotional prompt — "Treat today. Pay later." — is displayed on the treatment's detail page in the patient app. This message is intended to remind patients that Klarna is an option before they reach checkout.
To control this setting for a specific treatment:
- In the sidebar, click Products (or Treatments).
- Find the treatment and open its edit panel.
- Scroll to the Show Klarna message on treatment screen toggle.
- Turn it on or off and save.
This setting is turned on by default for all treatments. It only affects the promotional message displayed on the treatment detail screen — it does not affect whether Klarna appears as a payment option at checkout.
Klarna eligibility — what clinics should know
Klarna performs its own affordability and credit check on each patient at the point of checkout. Not every patient will be approved. Klarna's decision is based on its own criteria — credit history, previous Klarna usage, spending patterns — and is made in real time.
There is nothing you or the patient can do if Klarna declines a checkout. Klarna does not provide a reason for its decision to the patient or to you. If a patient is declined, they can pay by card instead.
The following points are important to understand:
- Klarna approval is per-transaction, not a blanket approval for a patient. A patient who was approved for a previous Klarna purchase may be declined for a future one.
- Klarna eligibility has nothing to do with how the clinic has set up Glovora. A patient who is declined is not an indicator of a configuration problem.
- The clinic has no visibility into Klarna's eligibility decisions and no ability to override them.
If a patient is frustrated after being declined by Klarna, reassure them that the decision is made entirely by Klarna based on their own criteria, and that paying by card is available immediately as an alternative.
What happens if a patient misses a Klarna repayment
This is entirely a matter between the patient and Klarna. As the clinic, you have already been paid in full by Stripe at the time of the transaction. A patient missing a Klarna instalment has no effect on your payout, your bank account, or anything in the Glovora CRM.
Klarna manages its own collections process. If a patient fails to pay, Klarna pursues that debt directly. The clinic is not involved, is not notified, and bears no financial risk.
How to disable Klarna
There is no global Klarna on/off switch in the Glovora CRM. Klarna is enabled and disabled at the level of your Stripe Express account. To stop offering Klarna to patients, you need to deactivate the Klarna capability in your Stripe Express Dashboard.
- Go to Connections in the sidebar.
- On the Stripe Payments card, click Dashboard to open your Stripe Express Dashboard in a new tab.
- In the Stripe Dashboard, go to Settings → Payment methods.
- Find Klarna in the list and deactivate it.
- Return to Glovora and click the Refresh icon on the Stripe card on the Connections page to update the status.
- Go to Payouts and confirm the Klarna badge now shows Inactive.
Once Klarna is inactive on your Stripe account, it will no longer appear as an option for patients at checkout. The "Treat today. Pay later." promotional messages on your treatment screens will still be visible unless you also turn off the Show Klarna message on treatment screen toggle on each individual treatment.
If you disable Klarna but do not turn off the "Treat today. Pay later." promotional messages on your treatment screens, patients will see the Klarna prompt on treatment detail pages but find Klarna unavailable when they reach checkout. This can cause confusion. If you deactivate Klarna on your Stripe account, also turn off the Klarna message toggle on any treatment where it is currently enabled.
Common mistakes
Assuming Klarna is something you need to actively set up. Glovora requests Klarna capability on your behalf when your Stripe Express account is created during onboarding. You do not need to apply separately or sign up with Klarna directly. Once Stripe approves the capability, Klarna becomes available at checkout automatically. The only reason to take any action is if you want to turn Klarna off, or if the status has been stuck on Pending for an unexpectedly long time.
Turning off the per-product Klarna message and expecting Klarna to disappear from checkout. The "Show Klarna message on treatment screen" toggle only controls the promotional text on the treatment detail page. It does not control whether Klarna appears as a payment method at checkout — that is determined entirely by your Stripe account's Klarna capability status. Turning off the messages on your products will remove the "Treat today. Pay later." prompt, but patients will still see Klarna as a checkout option if the capability is Active on your Stripe account.
Expecting to be notified if a patient misses a Klarna payment. The clinic has no role in Klarna's repayment process. Glovora does not receive any notification from Klarna if a patient misses an instalment, defaults, or has their account referred for collections. Your revenue is secured at the moment of the original transaction. You will not receive any follow-up communication from Klarna about patient repayments, and there is nothing you need to do if a patient contacts you about a Klarna payment query — direct them to Klarna's customer service directly.
Not accounting for Klarna's merchant fee when reviewing revenue. The Glovora Revenue page shows gross transaction amounts — what patients were charged. For Klarna transactions, the net amount you receive is meaningfully lower than the gross amount due to the 4.99% + £0.35 fee. If you use the Revenue page to estimate take-home income, remember to apply the Klarna fee calculation to any Klarna transactions. The Stripe Express Dashboard shows gross and net amounts per payout, which gives a more accurate picture.