Singapore-Based BNPL Firm Pace Nets $40M in Series A Funding

Singapore-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Pace notched $40 million in its Series A investment round, according to a recent press release. The round saw participation from investors in Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, including UOB Venture Management, Marubeni Ventures, Atinum Partners, AppWorks, as well as a series of family offices from Japan and Indonesia. Previous investors, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, Alpha JWC, and Genesis Alternative Ventures also participated.  

Funds will be used to expand the company’s technology, operations and business development to Japan, Korea and Taiwan, according to the announcement. Pace has set benchmarks of a $1 billion gross merchandise value run rate in 2022 and to expand its user base 25 times over the next year, according to the company. 

To date, Pace, which launched in 2021, has more than 3,000 points-of-sale across the region. The company worked closely with regulators to grow its overseas operations, adhering to local approaches, including integrating commonly used in-market payment methods to build resonance with retailers and consumers. 

Pace allows shoppers to split their purchases into three interest-free payments over 60 days. 

“This investment from some of the most successful and established investors signals confidence that Pace is a leading BNPL player in Asia,” said Pace CEO and founder Turochas ‘T’ Fuad. “The region is expected to become the world’s fastest-growing BNPL market, and this funding supports Pace in achieving its mission of democratizing financial services fore all, by helping us pave our expansion into Japan, Korea and China Taiwan.”

BNPL offerings continue to grow at a fever pitch. Digital payment software platform ACI Worldwide estimates that BNPL payment options grew 450% in the first half of 2021, according to PYMNTS. 

Read more: 23% Global eCommerce Spike Coming Between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday 

Acknowledging that BNPL could account for 20% to 30% of the total Polish eCommerce market, CEO Dariusz Mazurkiewicz of mobile payments system BLIK told PYMNTS that his company is looking to make inroads in the BNPL space. Since its launch in 2015, the company has 20 million application users and processes the majority of all Polish eCommerce payment transactions.  

See also: Polish Consumers Embrace Open Banking, BNPL Solutions