Zilch, a London-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) lender which enables the installment purchases at any online store, announced raising a $110 million Series C funding round led by Ventura Capital and Gauss Venture.
The company says it plans to use the funding to further US expansion efforts, following its acquisition of Neptune Financial (NepFin) in August. Zilch has been growing at a rapid pace in the UK, reaching over a million customers since its beta launch in 2019 and currently adding 200,000 a month.
Now, it wants to take on a crowded BNPL market in a country still beginning to fully adopt the lending model. The US has already begun ramping up BNPL usage ahead of the holiday season, with Amazon, Walmart and Square all integrating the model. BNPL usage is expected to almost double from 1.3% to 3% in 2021, but Zilch’s move from the UK could also be attributed to rising concerns and calls for legislation from UK regulators.
While the majority of BNPL lenders enable the installment model through brand and merchant-specific partnerships, Zilch takes an alternative merchant-agnostic approach that allows customers to pay wherever they want, according to Finextra.
The BNPL market expected to reach $166 billion by 2023, according to GlobalData, giving good motivation for the company to kick into high gear with its expansion efforts.
The Series C follows a $110 million Series B led by DMG Ventures and Goldman Sachs in July and a €66.7M Series B led by M&F Fund and Gauss Ventures in April. Zilch’s total funding raised now exceeds $340 million through five rounds and brings the company’s valuation to $2 billion.
In other recent fintech news, Pipe and AngelList partnered to advance management fees for startups looking to gain more liquidity in their business. Finicity and LoanPro also partnered to battle lending fraud through open banking practices.