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- Series A investors include Japan’s Marubeni Ventures, South Korea’s Atinum Partners, China Taiwan’s AppWorks, Indonesia’s Alpha JWC, and Singapore’s UOB Venture Management, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, and Genesis Alternative Ventures
- Funding from local investors supports and strengthens Pace to forge ahead with its expansionary plans to Japan, Korea, and China Taiwan
- Pace took only a year to grow into a Pan-Asian BNPL provider and is on track to hit Gross Merchandise Value run rate of USD1 billion in 2022
SINGAPORE, Nov. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Pace, a Singapore-based fintech solution company that allows customers to ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL), today announced that it has raised USD40 million in its Series A investment round. Investors that joined the round include UOB Venture Management (Singapore), Marubeni Ventures (Japan), Atinum Partners (South Korea), AppWorks (China Taiwan), and a series of family offices from Japan and Indonesia. Previous investors, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, Alpha JWC, and Genesis Alternative Ventures also participated.
Turochas ‘T’ Fuad, Founder and CEO of Pace, said: “This investment from some of the most successful and established investors signals confidence that Pace is a leading BNPL player in Asia. 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 for all, by helping us pave our expansion into Japan, Korea, and China Taiwan.”
“We are impressed by Pace and the founder’s clear vision, rapid growth, and experience not only in BNPL payments but in its progress in creating financial inclusion, and remain confident in their ability to revolutionize financial services. With this funding, we are excited to join them on their journey forward,” said Paul Ng, Executive Director at UOB Venture Management.
Joon Oh, Executive Director, Atinum Partners Co., Ltd, commented: “The financial services industry in Asia is shifting dynamically, but Pace has managed to establish primacy in markets by tapping into local consumer curves to establish itself as a dominant player with its clear vision. Through this funding, we hope for Pace to continue empowering more people across Asia with innovative fintech services.”
Following this investment round, Pace is now the fastest growing multi-territory BNPL player from Singapore. The new funding will go towards expanding technology, operations, and business development, to hit a Gross Merchandise Value run rate of USD1 billion in 2022 and grow its user base by 25X over the next 12 months.
To date, Pace has more than 3,000 points-of-sale across the region, driven by Pace’s ability to increase overall sales up to 25% by leveraging local customer insights, while driving repeat purchases from Pace’s fast-growing base of users.
Chua Joo Hock, Managing Partner of Vertex Ventures SEA and India, added: “Since leading its seed round, we have seen Pace grow by leaps and bounds. It has demonstrated excellence in expanding its users and merchants significantly to become a leading regional BNPL player. BNPL will become more prevalent in Asia, and our continuing funding in Pace reaffirms our belief in the strong execution capability of T and his team, and the hyper-growth prospects of the Company.”
Launched in 2021 by Turochas ‘T’ Fuad, Pace has successfully grown its overseas operations by working closely with regulators and adapting ultra-local approaches, such as integrating frequently used in-market payment methods to build resonance with merchants and shoppers. It will continue to replicate a hyperlocal framework as it goes live in new countries.
Currently, Pace allows consumers to split their purchase bills into three interest-free payments over 60 days, through an omnichannel experience that helps consumers spend sustainably.
Pace aims to create financial inclusion for consumers in the region, by helping them take control and shop on their terms, while helping merchants meet the increasing consumer demand and scale sales efficiencies.
About Pace
Pace is the fastest-growing multi-territory fintech solutions company from Singapore with a mission to democratize financial services across Asia. It aims to build a banking engine that can operate across countries easily to help merchants create sales efficiencies and provide consumers with an option to spend sustainably. Its “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) solution for offline and online merchants matches customers with appropriate spend limits and allows them to split their purchases over three interest-free payments. Pace currently operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. For more information about Pace and how it sets out to achieve its vision to become Asia’s future digital banking engine, visit https://pacenow.co/.
Media contact:
Gerald Toh
gerald@pacenow.co