By: 18 December 2020

The fintech company secured an additional $30 million equity funding from its pre-series B round, from investors such as Gauss Ventures and Simon Nixon

UK fintech company Zilch, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) specialist, is celebrating a four-fold customer registration increase and the closing of its oversubscribed pre-series B funding round.

Zilch intends to scale its business in the coming months. The fintech company secured an additional $30 million equity funding from its pre-series B round, from investors such as Gauss Ventures and Simon Nixon, co-founder of Money Supermarket, taking its reported total raised to $40 million.

The new funding follows Zilch’s consumer credit authorisation in the UK, a quadruple increase in customer registration numbers over the past six months, and 100% month-on-month transaction volume growth.

Zilch’s business centres on its ‘over the top’ BNPL model that requires no technical integration with retailers. Users pay 25% upfront for a purchase from a participating retailer. Payments are then spread out over a six week period. 

The fintech company leverages its strategic partnership with Mastercard to provide this service, allowing it to offer data-driven credit assessment technology that focuses on optimising its users’ cash flow while preventing over indebtedness.

Zilch chief executive officer and founder Philip Belamant explains: “Zilch ensures customers never over-borrow. We make use of open banking and AI along with soft credit checks to determine each customer’s level of affordability. As a result, Zilch’s customers rarely default and make use of the product as a cash flow management tool, which has proven to be of huge value to our customers.”

Jason Lane, executive vice president of market development in Europe at Mastercard comments: “Zilch is helping shoppers manage their cash flow in a way that suits them best and we are excited to partner with innovative fintechs, such as Zilch, across Europe as we scale innovative payment solutions that improve people’s lives.”

Zilch is an ‘exciting and disruptive’ new player

Belamant is “excited and humbled” by the investor and customer response to the fintech company’s product.

Belamant continued: “This is what sets us apart from other BNPL players in the market today and what continues to drive us in creating a new category—we want and can help people during these difficult times as our systems self adapt to the socio-economic conditions of the day and we feel privileged to be in a position to do so.”

Commenting on the investment, Nikita Tchesnokov, partner of Gauss Ventures, says “Zilch is one of the most exciting and disruptive new players to enter the BNPL market.”

“The company sets itself apart by engaging customers at the beginning of the buying journey and giving them a seamless, interest free method of purchase.”

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