HALF-YEAR RECAP – WHAT'S SHAPED QLIRO IN 2026 SO FAR
Six months in, and the story of 2026 has a clear pattern. Product releases, new composable partnerships across the Nordics and beyond, and merchant stories worth celebrating. Not least an e-com community that keeps showing up. Steady progress that keeps building on itself. Together, they tell you something more interesting about where commerce is heading, and what it actually takes to grow in it right now.
This half-year recap includes:
✔️ Our product journey
✔️ Partnerships & merchant growth
✔️ Numbers behind 2026 so far
✔️ What's ahead for the rest of 2026
Let's dive in. 👇
This year's product journey
It might be easy to assume that Checkout Gen 4 is the biggest news of the year so far, and it certainly deserves its spot. But the truth is, it's the result of a much longer development process. The first half was more about steady momentum than one single big highlight. Upsell 2.0 was rolled out to additional partners, including Norce, Askås, and WooCommerce, and Unlimited Upsell was added on top of it. In April, the Qliro app got a full update, rebuilt for speed and clarity based on how users actually use it day-to-day. After that, it was time for Checkout Gen 4 to launch, with Fast-Track, Robust Validation, and Multi-Channel Checkout.
What connects these releases isn't the features themselves. It's what they're optimizing for. Fewer decisions at checkout, more relevant upsell moments, and an experience that extends well beyond the purchase.
Conversion increasingly grows through continuously refining and removing small points of friction, not through a single redesign that fixes everything at once. In other words, it's an ongoing process rather than a one-time fix.
GROWING TOGETHER WITH PARTNERS, MERCHANTS & COMMUNITY
Everything Qliro builds starts with one question. Does this help our merchants grow and improve the customer journey? Which is exactly why it's even better that the clearest answers this half came from the merchants themselves. LYKO saw an 88% increase in upsell revenue in Sweden and over 110% in Norway, Denmark, and Finland within weeks of adopting Upsell 2.0. Pet Pawr Group brought all their brands onto a single, shared, and scalable payment solution, connecting four separate operations into one unified infrastructure. SmartaSaker celebrated 20 years in e-commerce and 1 year with Qliro, clear proof that modernizing payments isn't just for young brands. These are just a few examples of the success stories we've highlighted this spring.
This growth wouldn't have been possible without an ecosystem to support it. We've welcomed many new partners this half, including Abicart, Digital Commerce Finland, 24Nettbutikk, Vilkas Group, Scandicommerce, and Oscar Software, each extending Qliro's reach in how merchants build, sell, and grow.
One highlight this half was, of course, E-Com Summit, where partners, merchants, and Qliroers all got to share what they're building. Moments like that are a good reminder of who's actually behind every partnership and every merchant result. If you want to put a face to some of the people making it happen, we've featured a few Qliroers in our employee spotlights this spring. Meet Ellinor Jutterström, Steven Henderson, Svitlana Plotichkina, and Pauline Högberg (more on our LinkedIn and Instagram).
THE NUMBERS BEHIND 2026 SO FAR
Products, partners, and community are one way to tell the story of our year so far. The numbers are another, and they're worth ending on because they're a fitting reflection of everything above. Qliro closed the first quarter of 2026 having returned to profitability, while total payment volume grew 38% year-on-year to SEK 4.5 billion, and the number of merchants grew by 148%. The fourth quarter of 2025 grew by 46% year-on-year. More than 100 new merchants joined Qliro across the Nordics in January and February alone.
We're proud of these numbers, but even prouder of what they represent. Real progress toward our ambition to become the Nordic market leader, and our mission to deliver a world-leading experience for our merchants and their customers along the way.
Keep track of Investor Communication here.
What's ahead for the rest of 2026
If the first half of the year has shown anything, it's that growth doesn't have to come at the cost of stability, and stability doesn't have to come at the cost of speed. That's the balance we're carrying into the months ahead.
The second half will follow the same pattern, with products that keep getting better alongside ongoing new releases, partnerships that keep growing in number, and a community we never stop engaging with. To be continued!
Until then, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
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