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Klarna Avoids Going To Court In 'Pay In 4' US Class Action
A US Second Circuit Court has compelled arbitration in a class action lawsuit that sought to challenge Klarna’s Pay in 4 product.
Najah Edmundson, a user of Klarna’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) product, sued the Swedish fintech after she incurred an overdraft fee as a result of an automatic Klarna repayment.
Edmundson alleged that Klarna “misrepresents and conceals” the risk of bank overdraft fees that consumers face when using its BNPL service.
In February 2022, a Connecticut district court rejected Klarna’s motion to compel arbitration, but the Second Circuit Court has now reversed that ruling, ordering the parties to arbitrate the claims.
The court said Edmundson assented to arbitration when she clicked on "confirm and continue" on Klarna, which meant she agreed to Klarna’s payment terms, including a mandatory arbitration provision.
Block Puts Cash App Launch On Hold In Ireland, EU
US fintech giant Block has reportedly withdrawn an application to launch its Cash App peer-to-peer (P2P) payments app in Ireland and, by extension, the EU.
According to a report from the Irish Independent, in May this year Block withdrew a licence application for Cash App that it had filed with the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI).
A spokesperson for Block confirmed the accuracy of the report.
The news follows Block’s announcement, covered by Vixio last week, that it plans to cut 1,000 staff by the end of 2024.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Block, said a hiring freeze will be in place “until we feel the growth of the business has meaningfully outpaced the growth of the company”.
Wise Quietly Puts New Customer Onboarding On Hold For Businesses
UK-listed fintech Wise has announced that it is no longer accepting new applications to join its service from business customers in the UK and EEA.
In a statement posted last week, Wise said it has “temporarily paused” onboarding new businesses in these markets.
In the meantime, the company said that some customers will be asked to join a waiting list.
Although a Wise spokesperson said the pause is due to high demand in these markets, it follows turbulence for Wise’s business-facing arm in the US.
Last month, Wise informed its US business customers that their Wise Business cards would be “temporarily deactivated” on October 31, 2023. No reason for the deactivation was given.
