'Buy now, pay later' (BNPL) solution provider Pace Enterprise has secured an eight-figure debt financing round led by Genesis Alternative Ventures.
The new debt financing facility will be used to grow Pace’s business in the region, where it has already seen a 1,300% growth in users and 200% growth in merchant partners since January 2021, said Pace in a press release on June 16.
“We are very impressed with the incredible growth that Pace is experiencing. As one of the newer entrants, Pace has quickly captured the fintech market in the region. With a powerful vision for financial inclusion across Asia Pacific and a strong, talented founding team, we believe in Pace’s transformational impact,” said Jeremy Loh, managing partner at Genesis Alternative Ventures.
See: Keeping Pace with the competition
“Our aim is to change the way consumers in Asia Pacific shop, and we are proud to be partnering with remarkable brands and institutions to serve a traditionally underserved segment of customers. With over 900 points-of-sale and over 550% growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) since January, we’re encouraged by the exponential growth we’re experiencing,” said Turochas "T" Fuad, founder and CEO of Pace.
Luxury in instalments
Pace also announced an exclusive regional partnership with luxury goods and retail specialist Valiram, bringing its BNPL solution to brands such as Michael Kors, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and Steve Madden.
Through this partnership, Valiram’s brands in the region will offer Pace’s BNPL solution to its customers, allowing them to split their purchases over three interest-free instalments.
The partnership will extend Pace as an alternative payment option to over 20 international brands represented by Valiram in the region, including popular consumer brands such as Michael Kors, TUMI, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Steve Madden as well as Nike in Thailand and Pedro in Malaysia.
Payment via Pace will be available upon checkout across all points-of-sale, including websites, mobile apps, and over 200 points-of-sale in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Macau.
“We are indeed excited with this partnership which will allow us to extend a new flexible payment option to our customers. Through this partnership, the brands under our group will be able to unlock a new segment of consumers. With Pace’s simple, accessible and transparent interface which gives users control over their budgeting and expenditure, we also hope to empower our customers to practice sustainable spending,” said Mukesh Valiram, executive director at Valiram.
See also: Buy now, regulate later? Are 'buy now, pay later' services good for cash-strapped consumers?
Valiram joins Pace’s current stable of merchant partnerships, which includes ALDO, Miniso, Swee Lee, OG, Benjamin Barker, OSIM, FJ Benjamin, among others.
Pace announced its launch on Jan 19 with veteran entrepreneur Fuad, previously of Travelmob and Spacemob, at its helm. Headquartered in Singapore, the company raised a “high seven-figure” seed round co-led by Vertex Ventures, a Temasek subsidiary, and Indonesia’s Alpha JWC.
Fuad was last at WeWork, where he served as managing director of Southeast Asia and Korea for close to three years before his departure last June. He had joined WeWork after Spacemob — the Singapore-based coworking start-up he founded — was acquired in 2017 for an undisclosed sum.