Klarna and buy now, pay later on Shopify

The easiest way to add Klarna to Shopify is through Shopify Payments: on new Belgian and Dutch accounts Klarna is often already on, otherwise you activate it in your payment methods. You pay 2.99% + EUR 0.35 per payment (Plus: 2.19% + EUR 0.35). in3 and Riverty run through Mollie. Shop Pay Installments does not exist in Belgium and the Netherlands.

This article is part of our guide to Shopify payments for Belgium and the Netherlands. You will learn how Klarna works through Shopify Payments, what the alternatives are, what buy now, pay later costs and how to calculate whether it pays off for your margin.

What is buy now, pay later?

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) lets the customer place an order now and pay later, or in parts. A provider such as Klarna pays you as the store and collects the money from the customer. Through Shopify Payments, Klarna offers three options:

Pay in 30 days: the customer pays Klarna within 30 days, interest free. Late payment can lead to fees.

Pay in 3: three interest-free instalments, the first at checkout.

Pay in full: the customer pays right away through online banking.

You do not choose which options the customer sees. Klarna decides that based on your store location and the customer's order history, among other things.

Activating Klarna via Shopify Payments

Klarna via Shopify Payments is available for stores in Belgium and the Netherlands, among others, and is shown to customers in 19 countries. On new eligible Shopify Payments accounts, Klarna is on by default. If not, Klarna first reviews your business details. This is how you turn it on:

Go to Settings > Payments > Shopify Payments > Manage.

Select Klarna in the payment methods.

Click Save.

Klarna sets requirements for your store. Make sure your company number and contact details, delivery information, return instructions, your right of withdrawal policy, accurate product descriptions and genuine customer reviews are visible on your site. Also good to know:

Klarna only appears when the customer checks out with an email address. Customers who only enter a phone number do not see Klarna.

Klarna decides which products are eligible and can refuse or deactivate your store, for example with many disputes or incomplete information on your site.

The money arrives in your next Shopify Payments payout.

If you use manual capture, you must capture a Pay in 30 days payment before midnight UTC on the 28th day after the order.

Refunds are possible up to 180 days after payment. The transaction fee is not returned.

Disputes show up in your admin, but Klarna follows its own process and makes the final decision.

Klarna, in3 or Riverty via Mollie

If you also want to offer in3 or Riverty, or you do not use Shopify Payments, in Belgium and the Netherlands you usually end up with Mollie. The Mollie app for Shopify supports Klarna, in3 and Riverty, among others. These are popular methods in the Netherlands: in3 lets the customer pay in three instalments, Riverty (formerly AfterPay) lets the customer pay later.

The price is higher than the Mollie rate alone. Without Shopify Payments you pay an extra Shopify fee on every payment: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. All rates are in Mollie fees. How both providers compare beyond that, you can read in Shopify Payments vs Mollie.

There is also a separate Klarna app in the Shopify App Store, with its own contract with Klarna. Klarna points to it for markets Shopify Payments does not cover. For a store in Belgium or the Netherlands with Shopify Payments, you rarely need it.

Shop Pay Installments: not in Belgium and the Netherlands

Shop Pay Installments is Shopify's own instalment payment. You often see it in American guides and videos, but it is only available for stores with an entity in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom. For a Belgian or Dutch store, Klarna via Shopify Payments is the alternative. Shop Pay itself, the fast checkout, does work in Belgium and the Netherlands.

What does buy now, pay later cost?

Per order, buy now, pay later is the most expensive method in your checkout. This table shows Klarna, in3 and Riverty next to the other methods, checked in November 2026. All Shopify Payments rates are in Shopify Payments fees and rates.

Worked example for an EUR 120 order on the Basic plan:

Klarna via Shopify Payments: 2.99% of 120 = EUR 3.59, plus EUR 0.35, EUR 3.94 in total.

Klarna via Mollie: EUR 3.59 plus EUR 0.45 at Mollie, plus 2% Shopify fee (EUR 2.40), EUR 6.44 in total.

The same customer paying with iDEAL | Wero via Shopify Payments: EUR 0.29. With an EU card: EUR 2.65.

Payment fees are one layer of your total cost. To see how they compare to your plan, apps and development, read the total cost of a Shopify store.

Does Klarna bring in more revenue?

Buy now, pay later providers publish their own figures on higher order values and a better conversion rate. Those are claims by the provider itself, measured on its own customers. We have not found independent research with hard figures for Belgian and Dutch stores.

Our advice: don't rely on someone else's numbers. Turn Klarna on, measure the share of Klarna orders and their average order value for a few weeks, and compare with the period before. With enough traffic, an A/B test on the payment step is the cleanest way. Keep shifting in mind: some Klarna customers would otherwise simply have paid with iDEAL or card.

When does buy now, pay later pay off? A simple calculation

Klarna costs more per order. The real question is whether the extra sales cover that extra cost. An example:

Your store does 1,000 orders per month with an average order value of EUR 120 and a 40% gross margin (EUR 48 per order).

You expect 10% of customers, 100 orders, to pay with Klarna.

In the worst case, those customers would otherwise have paid with iDEAL. The difference is EUR 3.94 minus EUR 0.29, so EUR 3.65 per order, or EUR 365 per month.

To earn that back, you need about 8 extra orders per month (365 divided by 48), or 0.8% more orders.

If the effect comes from a higher order value, a Klarna order needs to be about EUR 9 higher (3.65 divided by a 40% margin) to break even.

With low margins or low order values, that threshold rises quickly. Watch out with high order values too: the percentage rate adds up fast. On an EUR 1,000 order you pay EUR 30.25 for Klarna, versus EUR 0.29 for iDEAL | Wero. For our clients with high order values, buy now, pay later is therefore less often worth it.

New rules for buy now, pay later

Buy now, pay later was largely unregulated for a long time. That is changing. The new European Consumer Credit Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/2225, often called CCD2) brings interest-free buy now, pay later services under credit rules too, including a creditworthiness check and clear information for the customer. The rules apply from 20 November 2026. In the Netherlands, buy now, pay later falls under AFM supervision from then on. Belgium transposed the directive with a law adopted on 9 July 2026.

What does that mean for you as a store? The heavy obligations sit with the provider, such as Klarna, in3 or Riverty. You do stay responsible for how you promote buy now, pay later. Don't promise 'free credit' without conditions in banners or ads, and have promotional copy about buy now, pay later checked legally.

Klarna does not show in your checkout: checklist

Does the customer enter an email address? In a checkout with only a phone number, Klarna does not appear.

Is Klarna activated and approved? Check in your payment methods whether Klarna is active or still under review.

Does the customer pay in euro, in a country where Klarna is shown? Check your markets and currencies.

Is all required information on your site? Company number, contact, delivery, returns, right of withdrawal. If something is missing, Klarna can refuse.

Do you sell products Klarna does not allow? Then Klarna can refuse or deactivate your account.

Do you still have an old Klarna app or Mollie connection active? Two routes to Klarna side by side cause confusion and double costs. Pick one.

Which other payment methods belong in your checkout? For Dutch customers that is iDEAL and Wero on Shopify, for Belgian customers Bancontact on Shopify.

What we learned in the Shopify Community

Klarna via Mollie with 2% extra. A Dutch merchant was surprised by the 2% Shopify fee on top of Klarna's 2.99% via Mollie. Now outdated: Klarna is part of Shopify Payments for Belgium and the Netherlands, without an extra fee. Source: Shopify Community, September 2023 to November 2024.

Dispute over a return that never arrived. A customer reported a return to Klarna, but only part of the order came back. The merchant had to submit evidence and a decision could take up to 75 days. The lesson: register returns accurately, with tracking. Source: Shopify Community, December 2024.

Klarna not visible to foreign customers. Stores saw Klarna in their own country, but not for customers in other countries. Which countries Klarna shows through Shopify Payments depends on your store's country. If you sell in several markets, test per country whether Klarna appears. Sources: Shopify Community, October 2024 to December 2025 and February 2025.

How 6th Man helps

We don't switch Klarna on blindly. With our payment simulator we first calculate what buy now, pay later costs with your payment mix, order value and margin, and how many extra orders or how much extra order value you need to break even. Then we activate Klarna through the cheapest route and measure the effect on your real orders.