Swedish mobile payments firm Klarna has appointed Jon Kamaluddin, former international director at the online retailer ASOS, to its board of directors.

Kamaluddin was international director at ASOS from 2009 to 2013, having spent five previous years as CFO. Kamaluddin led the company’s global expansion into markets including the US, Russia, China, Germany and Australia, which helped ASOS grow its international sales to almost 60 per cent of overall sales.

Klarna was founded in Stockholm in 2005 and is currently valued at around $1 billion. The Klarna Checkout service allows consumers to make online purchases using only their e-mail address and postcode, with no pre-registration or credit cards required. Consumers can also have their product delivered before they have to pay for it.

Klarna is active in 15 European countries and recently rolled out its Checkout solution in the UK. Klarna claims that retailers using their service can see checkout conversion rates of up to 80 per cent.

Some 25 million customers have used the platform so far and 45,000 merchants have registered, including Spotify, Vista Print, Marks & Spencer and ASOS in Germany.

Commenting on Kamaluddin’s appointment, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Klarna, said: “ASOS has done for e-commerce what the Beatles did for pop and Jon is a rock star. Jon brings a wealth of consumer business experience, alongside a proven track record in successful geographical expansion. He’s the perfect fit for our future ambitions and we couldn’t be happier.”

The Klarna board currently consists of eight members, including Sir Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital.

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