By Supantha Mukherjee

STOCKHOLM, June 3 (Reuters) - Swedish fintech Klarna on

Tuesday said on Monday it is doing a pilot launch of a new debit

card in the United States as the buy now, pay later pioneer

seeks to compete more directly with traditional banks.

With a partnership with Visa, Klarna will allow

consumers to pay immediately or choose interest-free options to

pay over time for both online and in-store purchases.

Klarna in April paused its plans for a U.S. initial public

offering for the second time in the last few years as President

Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs rattled global markets.

The company, which has over 100 million global active users,

is currently trialling the debit card in the U.S. before a

broader rollout in the U.S. and Europe later this year.

Banks are the primary institutions in the U.S. to issue

debit cards where a customer can use their own funds to purchase

goods instead of going into debt as offered by credit cards.

As Klarna doesn't have a banking license in the U.S., the

debit card and the balance account will be issued by Utah-based

WebBank.

The physical card will come in aubergine, black and bright

green colours with a choice between one free, and two paid tiers

for different discounts and cashback rates.