Brief

H/Advisors Cicero was appointed to support Klarna’s public affairs activity in the UK to build a cross-party network of support ahead of the introduction of Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) regulation.

Alongside this policy focus, Cicero was tasked with promoting Klarna’s wider financial services products to policymakers including Open Banking, AI, and price comparison. From the outset, the ambition was to be creative and bold in our public affairs activity and work with the business to develop new tools or campaigns at speed to deliver tangible results.

Strategy & Execution

Cicero supported Klarna with consultation responses on BNPL regulation to ensure their views were clearly articulated to policymakers. We also engaged with key stakeholders including the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, the Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury’s team and MPs across all parties. To deliver creative and impactful campaigns, Cicero generated innovative methods to engage with parliamentary stakeholders. Monthly creative sessions were held to generate ideas which would then be taken forward as mini-projects. These ranged from adopting AI tools in public affairs activity, MP newsletters based on product purchases, and promoting an opt-out tool with a Government Minister

Result

Klarna’s views on BNPL regulation were well represented across Westminster to ensure future regulatory change was fair and proportionate. Klarna has also demonstrated to political stakeholders that BNPL is only one element of its business and that it is also a leader in Open Banking, AI and product development.

Cicero is in the process of rolling out AI-led public affairs tools with Klarna to continue to provide innovative ways to deliver public affairs activity.