Singapore BNPL player Pace gets $40m Series A

Investors include Japan's Marubeni Ventures, Korea's Atinum Partners, Taiwan's AppWorks, and Indonesia's Alpha JWC Ventures, as well as Singapore’s UOB Venture Management, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, and Genesis Alternative Ventures.

Vertex, a VC arm of Temasek Holdings, Alpha JWC, and Genesis provided a reportedly “high seven-figure” seed round earlier this year. The company, which was set up last year and formally launched in January, now refers to itself as the fastest-growing multi-territory BNPL player from and a segment leader regionally.

“The financial services industry in Asia is shifting dynamically, but Pace has managed to establish primacy in markets by tapping into local consumer curves to establish itself as a dominant player with its clear vision,” Joon Oh, an executive director at Atinum, said in a statement.

Pace’s core offering allows customers to split their purchase over three interest-free payments over 60 days. The service is said to help merchants meet increasing consumer demand, scale sales efficiencies, and increase overall sales up to 25%.

Operations currently extend across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Expansion has been guided by a hyperlocal strategy, including the integration of frequently used in-market payment methods to build resonance with merchants and shoppers.

The fresh capital will support a push into Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, as well as technology and business development buildouts. The plan is to hit a gross merchandise value run rate of $1 billion in 2022 and grow the user base by 25x over the next 12 months.

Recent traction includes a partnership with Malaysian luxury goods retailer Valiram. This will allow Pace to give BNBL shoppers in Southeast Asia increased access to premium brands such as Victoria's Secret and Michael Kors.

Deferred payments apps, which effectively mimic a credit card service for underbanked customers, have become a hot trend in financial technology investment in recent months. Much of the enthusiasm has been tied to the idea of democratizing financial services, although there are concerns about credit reporting practices and potential for individuals to become overindebted.

One of the largest operators in this space is Indonesia’s FinAccel, also known as Kredivo, which agreed to a US listing via special purpose acquisition company earlier this year at a valuation of $2 billion. Partnering with e-commerce platforms has been considered critical to the company’s development. Alpha JWC is also an investor in FinAccel.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Financials
• Early-stage
• Singapore
• Atinum Partners
• AppWorks Ventures
• Alpha JWC Ventures
• UOB Venture Management
• Vertex Ventures
• Financial Services