The Australian head of buy now, pay later outfit Klarna has dismissed concerns over Commonwealth Bank’s recent foray into the sector, saying the big four bank’s instalment payment services would likely complement rather than compete against the likes of Afterpay and Zip.

Fran Ereira, Klarna’s Australian general manager, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald she wasn’t fazed by the CBA’s announcement last month it would launch a new BNPL service, despite fears it could put a squeeze on the burgeoning local industry.

“We’ve been across this for quite a number of months, and to us what they’re doing is complementary,” she said. “At the end of the day what they’re doing is allowing a credit card user to pay in instalments. There’s no marketing, no personalisation, no content curation.

“We don’t foresee them trying to play in our space... I think they talk to two very different audiences.”

Commonwealth Bank is a 5 per cent shareholder in Klarna, and the $153 billion bank’s announcement in mid-March sparked warnings from investors and analysts that some buy now, pay later operators could be put under pressure by the move.

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However, CBA’s offering is more simplistic than those provided by Afterpay or Klarna, which promote their services as also acting as a marketing tool for businesses rather than just a payment solution. CBA’s group executive for retail banking, Angus Sullivan, said last month competition against Klarna would likely be only “on the margin”.

“What [CBA and Klarna] are looking to do is ensure we both grow and continue to grow in this market,” Ms Ereira said. “We have no concerns at this point.”

On Tuesday, Klarna announced it had also struck a new partnership with Coles and Wesfarmers-owned loyalty giant flybuys which will allow Klarna users to claim rewards points when purchasing through the platform.