Not a Novel Concept

The super app model is not entirely new; platforms like China’s Alipay and WeChat Pay have long integrated financial services with non-financial offerings such as messaging.

A Fragmented Space

Klarna, a leader in buy now, pay later solutions, is also venturing into the super app space. The company recently announced plans to beef up its app into an all-encompassing platform, adding financial services and forging partnerships to extend its reach.

With Klarna’s integration with Bolt for its BNPL service through Bolt’s CheckoutOS platform, both companies now find themselves in direct competition. This has led other players like PayPal and Block to enhance their platforms with features aimed at retaining user engagement within their ecosystems.

This creates a competitive landscape that is challenging for Bolt, which had previously struggled to meet its targets and justify its valuation.

According to Don Apgar, Director of Merchant Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research, Bolt’s strategy is expanding horizontally as a consumer wallet but the digital wallet space is just as crowded as the checkout space. It remains unclear whether this represents a cohesive strategy or merely an attempt to support the company’s $14 billion valuation.”