I Actually Love Klarna’s “Burrito Loans”

Using Debt to DoorDash Isn’t Entirely Stupid

The “buy now, pay later” service provider Klarna just had its much-anticipated IPO, reminding me of a meme I came across some time ago poking fun at the partnership between Klarna and food delivery service DoorDash to offer “buy now, pay later” options. The meme originated from the finance meme page Litquidity and shows Rick from White Lotus Season 3 staring in soulless bewilderment.

I thought it was hilarious. If you’ve seen the show White Lotus, you understand how Rick’s face while Sam Rockwell delivers a five-minute monologue about being an Asian girl was bound for memedom. The joke is obvious. Why is someone, who is presumably well off (the memepage caters to those in finance), breaking up a lunch expense into monthly payments? Usually, that sort of thing is reserved for big purchases, such as cars, houses, etc. It is also meant to show you how shameless those in the finance industry can be about gaining any sort of financial edge. The idea of someone earnestly explaining their “investment strategy” behind splitting up a salad payment is ridiculous.

Other memes have since piled in on DoorDash’s news, many of which relate to using the payments to get a Chipotle burrito to signing a mortgage, usually using the Big Short film as fodder.