Valar, IA lead $40m Series B for India BNPL player

LFH Ventures also participated. It brings total funding raised since the company’s inception in 2015 to $83 million. Previous investors include US-based firms Green Visor Capital Management, DIA Investments, and SF Capital Investments.

Simpl’s flagship product, 1-tap Pay Later, enables consumers to make payments via mobile and bring all their purchases across retailers on the network aggregated into one bill that can be repaid once every 15 days. It is said to be in use by more than 7,000 online merchants, including Zomato, MakeMyTrip, Big Basket, and Jio Platform.

The company claims the platform increases cart conversion by 45% and increases average order value by 20%. Earlier this year, it launched two new features: Bill Box, which automates recurring payments, and Pay-in-3, which allows customers to pay for items across three equal installments every month.

"Simpl built the first payments network we've seen that treats small and medium merchants as true partners," Jesse Beyroutey, a partner at IA, said in a statement. "It offers the BNPL, fast checkout and anti-fraud features that merchants need to compete in today's market, at a transparent, fair price.”

James Fitzgerald, a partner at Valar, described Simpl as a “key enabler” of e-commerce in India at an inflection point for the industry. “It significantly improves consumer experience which is why it is quickly becoming a preferred partner for merchants,” he said.

Valar, a firm set up by PaypPal co-founder Peter Thiel, was active in this space as recently as last month, when it led a $20 million Series A for Velocity, a start-up that provides revenue-based financing to e-commerce companies. Velocity is positioned as both an e-commerce enabler and an alternative to venture capital and traditional bank debt.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Financials
• Early-stage
• India
• Valar Ventures
• e-commerce
• Financial Services
• Fintech