What to do when a Klarna account holder dies

Klarna handles a deceased customer through an online webform at klarna.com/us/special-circumstances/ ("A bereavement / deceased customer"), followed by email contact. Klarna does not publish a phone number or a mailing address for reporting a death; the notification is submitted online. After you submit the form and documents, Klarna aims to contact you by email within 3 business days.

In every case Klarna requires your valid government-issued photo ID (with all four corners visible) and a certified death certificate of the deceased person. Depending on your role, you also provide Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration if you are the executor or administrator, a valid Small Estate Affidavit or equivalent if the estate qualifies as a small estate under state law, or a Power of Attorney or signed authorization if an attorney or legal representative is acting on behalf of an heir.

No. Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days, and Pay over time are installment debts, not assets, so there is no payable-on-death, transfer-on-death, or beneficiary designation. When the customer dies, any unpaid balance becomes part of the estate, which resolves it through Klarna's deceased-customer process.

Klarna does not state that installment balances are forgiven on death. An outstanding buy-now-pay-later plan is a debt of the estate and is addressed as part of settling the estate. After Klarna reviews the notification and documents, it provides an overview of the outstanding balances or claims so the estate can resolve them. Whether an unsecured debt is ultimately paid depends on the assets available in the estate under state law.

Klarna's Pay over time / Financing products are issued by WebBank (member FDIC) in partnership with Klarna; Klarna facilitates and services the plans. The estate still works through Klarna's deceased-customer webform to report the death and resolve the account. The financing balance is owed to WebBank as the issuing bank, but it is administered through Klarna's process.

Because probate and inheritance laws vary by state, Klarna reviews each case individually. Once it receives the necessary information, Klarna suspends the customer profile to prevent unauthorized money movements, cancels marketing and communications to the deceased person, cancels any Klarna Card, provides an overview of outstanding balances or claims, and transfers any remaining Klarna Balance wallet funds to the rightful heirs or authorized representative.

Klarna aims to make first contact by email within 3 business days of receiving all required documents. Because each case is reviewed individually and depends on the complexity of the estate and applicable state law, the full process may take anywhere from a few days to several months.