Klarna Bank - whose bread & butter has been loans for smartphones and other consumer electronics - has seen a flood of applications for staples such as food and gas. They provide interest-free loans that allow people to spread payments out over multiple installments, and makes money charging retailers a small per-transaction fee, and from interest on longer-term loans.
Two months ago, President Biden read off of a teleprompter: "I’ve built a strong ec- — we’ve built a strong economy with a strong job market."
Two months later, and cash-strapped Americans are using micro-loans to afford gas and groceries amid crippling inflation.