Klarna, Europe’s largest FinTech company, has chosen Madrid to open its new technology center.
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, announced this Wednesday that the Swedish buy now, pay later giant Klarna, will install its operations center (‘hub’) in the capital.
Read also: Starling Bank questions the way women are pictured with money
With the momentum of the hub technology, Klarna will focus on recruiting employees in product development, including engineers, product managers, designers, and experts in data science and analytics.
Nearly half (1,500) of Klarna’s c.4,000 employees globally are focused on engineering. Klarna has organized its operations in over 450 teams, spread over three continents and with over 90 nationalities.
According to the company, these teams work as independent start-ups with a common vision and mission.
The company intends to incorporate the first of these profiles throughout 2021. This initiative will exponentially expand the size of its current office, which will be transformed into a global product development center.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna said: “Traditional banks and card companies have been overcharging customers for an incredibly poor customer experience for far too long. Our aim is to allow consumers to bank, shop and pay on one app, in-store and online, with one trusted brand.”
“To do this, we need the best engineers to deliver a seamless product experience for our customers. That’s why we’re coming to Madrid, one of Europe’s emerging tech centers. Together with our tech hubs in Stockholm, Berlin and Milan, we are creating a powerhouse of technology expertise that will support Klarna’s growth,” he added.
“I am very proud that they have chosen Madrid and it will allow us to recover the future that the pandemic has taken from us,” said the mayor of Madrid.
This announcement comes at a time when Madrid is trying to position itself as a European benchmark for the high-tech industry, with the aim of attracting more investors and startups to the territory.
[mc4wp_form id=”2736″]
According to data from the INE, the capital currently represents 26% of R&D spending in Spain and is already the third most important functional urban area in Europe.
The general director of Madrid Futuro, Pablo Vázquez, assures that “It is especially exciting to participate in the arrival of a technological benchmark and in a sector with strong growth and of special relevance for the transformation of the city. With this milestone, the process of reactivation and transformation of the Madrid economy begins, where the ability of Madrid to generate employment and attract talent in sectors will be key for the future generations”.