Bengaluru-based fintech startup ZestMoney has raised $50 Mn in its Series C round. The fresh round of investment was led by an Australian stock exchange listed firm Zip Co Limited. The company is expected to raise up to $100 million as part of this ongoing Series C funding.
As part of the deal, Zip Co will acquire a minority stake in ZestMoney and will get a board seat. Founded in Australia in 2013, Zip has a presence in 12 markets across five continents, and serves more than 7.3 million customers across 51,000 merchants.
ZestMoney is expected to use the funds to expand its product suite, deepen its transaction network and launch new business lines, including insurance and savings. With this fundraise, the company has raised more than $110 million in funding till date. The company’s existing investors include Goldman Sachs, Quona Capital, Xiaomi and Alteria Capital among others.
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Founded by Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman in 2015, ZestMoney is a digital omnichannel BNPL player with a merchant network of 10,000 online and 75,000 physical stores. It has a customer base of 11 million, 70 percent of whom are from Tier II and III markets and are first-time credit seekers. It offers the entire spectrum of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) offering from 30 days to 24 months and ticket sizes ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 5 lakh.
The investment comes at a time of increasing popularity of the BNPL sector, where customers pay in instalments without any interest for their online purchases, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed young shoppers to look for easier access to credit.
“Over the last year we have seen applications for BNPL go up by 5X on our platform. We continue to invest in deepening partnerships with our merchant network and hiring the best talent. We strongly believe India will emerge as the largest BNPL market in the world over the next 5 years,” said Lizzie Chapman, chief executive officer and co-founder, ZestMoney.
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