Klarna Docs - Klarna Docs Glossary
Klarna Docs Glossary

Understand the key terms used in our documentation.

A - G

Acquiring Partner

Licensed and regulated company that processes payments by Customers to Partners via the Klarna Payment Services. As detailed in the corresponding Klarna Network Distribution Agreement, the Acquiring Partner is responsible for conducting the necessary and applicable Know-Your-Customer (“KYC”) and Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) checks required to onboard Partners. They facilitate the authorization, settlement, and management of Klarna transactions, and continuously monitor Partners. Any term defined in the respective Klarna Network Distribution Agreement shall retain its meaning throughout the Klarna Network Rules unless explicitly stated otherwise

Action

An action when referring to the tasks you can perform with our APIs. Example: Some of the actions you can perform with the Order Management API are canceling and refunding an order.

Allowlist

Sometimes called a "whitelist". A list of files, programs, and/or systems that are permitted to run or have access to a database. Some e-commerce platforms may require that Klarna APIs or IP addresses be explicitly allowlisted by the user.

Authorization token

Identifier of a purchase authorization received as response of an Authorize() call. Allows to continue the creation of the order and finalise the purchase flow.

API

An Application Program Interfaces (API) is a software intermediary that makes it possible for application programs to interact with each other and share data.

Chargeback

A customer's request to return funds paid to a merchant. Typically, chargebacks occur after the merchant has refused a refund.

After a chargeback is initiated, the merchant can dispute it in some cases. If a dispute is allowed, the merchant should provide all necessary documents to Klarna or to the payment processor in case of enable Klarna via a Distribution Partner.

Claim

Refers to the right to collect payment from the respective Customer.

Customer

Also referred to as a "consumer" or "shopper". Public who are making purchases online or in-store using the Klarna Payment Services to pay for their purchases.

Dispute

A Klarna dispute arises when a Customer contests their obligation to settle payment(s) for purchases made from a Partner. These cases are categorized into different dispute reasons.

Distribution Partner

An entity that has been authorized by Klarna to market, distribute, resell, or undertake necessary actions to extend the availability of Klarna's products and services within broader or more specific markets.

Fraud assessment

Klarna's review process to make sure an order is placed by a real person and is safe to fulfill. It involves confirming the order details, and verifying the customer's identity.

H - N

Hosted payment page (HPP)

A webpage, popup, or embedded section of a checkout that a customer is redirected to in order to pay and complete their purchase. This page is "hosted" - meaning it belongs to and is maintained by - a third-party. When customers select Klarna as their payment option in a partner's checkout, they will be redirected to a new page (or be shown a popup window) where they can complete their purchase with Klarna. After the purchase is completed, the customer is redirected back to the partner's "Order Complete" page.

Identifiers

Only identifiers generated by Klarna will be exposed through properties suffixed with _id. Identifiers generated by partners will be accepted through properties suffixed with with _reference.

In-app

Electronic payments made by customers via mobile apps. These payments may utilise either native mobile APIs or web pages optimised for mobile (also called as mobile web).

In-store

Used to refer to transactions that occurs in a traditional physical store. Brick-and-mortar

Klarna payments

Klarna product that enables to offering of Klarna payment methods as part of an e-commerce website and create orders.

Merchant

Merchants are businesses or business owners who are selling goods or services.

Merchant Category Code

The Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a four-digit number that is used to classify the type of goods or services offered by a business.

Merchant ID

Once a merchant creates an account with Klarna, they are assigned a Merchant ID and is a several-digit code unique to that business, which allows partners to be easily identified in our system.

The Merchant ID is unique per environment, therefore a merchant may have multiple merchant ids to cover for playground and productions as well as may have multiples merchant ids to differentiate different websites or regions.

Merchant portal

The Klarna Merchant Portal is the Klarna back office portal for our partners. Partners are able to view and manage orders, access settlement information, update payment information, and more while signed into the Klarna Merchant Portal.

O - T

On-site messaging

Klarna solution that enables merchants to implement dynamic messages in their e-commerce websites.

One-time payments

Payments that only happen once, and are not charged again. Most purchases are one-time payments.

Order management

Klarna product that enables to handle orders previously created and take actions on it such as captures, cancelations and refunds.

Partner

A business entity that uses Klarna's Product Suite (e.g. payments, placements, identity, express checkout or advertising services) through an active Klarna business account independently of the type of the integration being used.

Partners are usually businesses or business owners who are selling goods or services (i.e. merchants).

Partner Portal

Klarna’s online platform for all Partners. It provides resources, documentation, and support for integrating services from Klarna’s Product Suite. Partners can access technical guides, API documentation, integration tools, receive updates on new features, and opt into specific payment programs.

Payload

In computing and telecommunications, the payload is the part of transmitted data that is the actual intended message. The payload excludes any headers or metadata sent solely to facilitate payload delivery.

Payment

Provisioning involves the transfer of money from one account to another.

Playground environment

Traditionally called "sandbox". Playground environment is "test" version of a website or system, where users are able to use the features without repercussion. Klarna offers a free playground environment of our system, which includes access to "test" versions of our integration and Merchant Portal. This allows merchants to walk through the integration process, make test orders, and view Klarna on their sites - without needing a live Klarna account!

For more information about playground environments, click here.

Production environment

The "live" version of a website or system. For a merchant selling online, this refers to the public website, where customer go to make real purchases. Merchants partnered with Klarna gain access to the Klarna production environment after signing up. This includes access to the live integrations, so that customers can make orders on your site using Klarna as the payment method; and access to the live Merchant Portal, where you can manage both your orders and your account.

PSP

PSP stands for Payment Service Provider. Payment Service Providers are companies that enable partners to access a wide variety of payment options for their customers, while managing their orders and payments efficiently.

Recurring payments

Payments that are charged multiple times, at regular intervals. Subscriptions are an example of a recurring payment.

Settlement

"Settlement" in the context of Klarna refers to the process of transferring funds from Klarna to a partner or merchant.

U - Z

Webhook

Automated notifications sent from one aplplication to another when something happens. A webhook is an HTTP-based callback function that allows lightweight, event-driven communication between systems.