Just last month, UKTN interviewed Philip Belamant, CEO and Founder of UK-based fintech Zilch, where he revealed that they’re going to close a funding round very soon, and the news has turned out to be just true.
The Klarna-competitor has announced to have secured an additional $30 million (approx £22.3 million) equity funding enabling it to close its oversubscribed pre Series B in less than 3 weeks.
The company secured additional funding from leading Global fintech investors including Gauss Ventures and the co-founder of Money Supermarket, Simon Nixon. Zilch will use the funding to continue scaling its unique over-the-top BNPL business.
Belamant said in the official company press release, “We are just getting started and have some amazing new features coming soon, all of which track our customers’ way of life, financial constraints, and aspirations!”
Based out of London, Zilch is one such startup that’s redefining the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market place — by being completely on the side of the consumer, especially when COVID-19 continues to impact all.
Philip continues, “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.”
Customer registration quadrupled
The UK company also says that it has seen customer registration numbers quadruple over the last 6 months and transaction volume grow by more than 100% month-on-month.
Unlike traditional BNPL products, Zilch’s unique model does not require any integration and can thus instantly provide its customer’s accessibility everywhere. Further, it’s proprietary data-driven credit assessment technology focuses on optimising its users’ cash flow whilst preventing over-indebtedness.
Notably, Zilch recently became the UK’s first BNPL fintech to secure a consumer credit authorisation with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Zilch delivers its unique proposition to customers by leveraging its strategic partnership with Mastercard. Jason Lane, EVP, Market Development Europe at Mastercard commented: “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.”
Commenting on the investment, Nikita Tchesnokov, Partner of Gauss Ventures, said “Zilch sets itself apart by engaging customers at the beginning of the buying journey and giving them a seamless, interest-free method of purchase. This unique consumer-centric approach, coupled with its technology and understanding of the millennial and Gen Z population, are core reasons for our decision to invest in the business.”
Now, over 15,000+ new customers sign up for Zilch every month. The company released its original BETA product in August 2019 and has experienced a huge level of traction since, particularly from young millennial and Gen Z markets.
Founded in 2020 this newest BNPL fintech is highly ambitious and wants to take over the market leaders by offering users a seamless, interest-free experience. Further, Zilch is the only BNPL player in the industry to take advantage of Open Banking Technology combined with soft credit checks.
The post Klarna rival alert: London’s buy-now-pay-later fintech drums up £22.3M funding appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
