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Nothing is free.Neither is Klarna.

Yes, Klarna may claim they offer "interest free credit". But once smoothly onboarded, customers likely will start revolving credit to finance their purchases.

As per Klarna's UK website: "The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for purchases is between 0-18.99%."

So, double the 10,1% APR that Barclays and StepChange charge.

Good summation. Thanks for posting.

An oversight in the above, is the Nordic's largest financial services provider; TietoEVRY, has also joined the Swedish e-krona pilot.

From a vantage point of "commercial" banks, a valid question is indeed: Why CBDCs?

However, the many reports referred to above (BoE, but also BIS, Norges Bank, Riksbanken) do touch upon the opportunities for central banks and commercial banks alike - dependent on the design choices.

Regarding users, and unlike RTGS.global's Andrew Smith, I'd say there are a few advantages to CBDCs. Main one being that they'd be guaranteed (as is the case of cash) by a central bank. This is certainly one reason why central banks (with dwindling cash usage) are pursuing CBDCs.

Even still, why users (consumers and businesses alike) would embrace CBDCs, still needs further attention.