Japan’s BNPL Entry Paidy Raises $120 Million

Paidy, a Japanese buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, has completed a Series D funding round and come away with $120 million, according to a press release.

JS Capital Management, Soros Capital Management, Tybourne Capital Management and Wellington Management participated in the round, the release stated.

Paidy’s corporate goal is to “Take the hassle out of your payment and purchase experiences,” according to the release, and the company wants to create an environment where anyone can shop. Paidy lets customers supply their email or phone and pay the accumulated charges the following month.

The number of companies using Paidy’s services has reached more than 700,000 in Japan, and the number of consumer accounts is now over 5 million, the release stated.

Paidy has also introduced a new service called “3-Pay,” which lets customers split payments into three equal, interest-free monthly installments, according to the release.

“The funds raised in the latest round will be used to expand transactions with large merchants, develop new services, and strengthen its balance sheet in response to the rapid expansion of ‘3-Pay,’” the release stated.

“Having the support of a powerful lineup [of investors] makes me feel very encouraged about the future growth potential of a born-in-Japan startup that offers new values to the world,” Paidy Founder and Executive Chair Russell Cummer said in the release. “We intend to continue expanding our horizons and raising our sights. As our payment volume increases and ‘3-Pay’ is used by more and more customers, we are strengthening our financial base to secure our growth trajectory as a trusted brand and reliable business partner for our merchants.”

BNPL services have been in demand from younger users like millennials as of late, as 26 percent of millennial users employ the service for their eCommerce buys. That’s a bigger number than the 14 percent of the whole survey who said the same.

Millennials’ use of the payment option is gaining traction, too, with 4 percent more of that generation making BNPL purchases in February than just a month prior.