Fast-moving credit for fast-moving goods

• Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) as a payment option has gained traction among consumers, but did you know that BNPL is offered to businesses too? That’s exactly what 500-backed fintech startup Fairbanc provides, and the company just raised US$4.8 million in pre-Series A led by Vertex Ventures!
• Fairbanc provides short-term credit to small businesses, allowing them to purchase fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) inventory. 
• What about default rates, you ask? Founder & CEO Mir Haque said they are very low, because merchants must pay the previous BNPL balance in order to continue making purchases.
• According to the team, their pilot with Unilever in Indonesia resulted in 35% sales growth for almost 500 small merchants with zero defaults over one year.
• So, what’s next? The company said it will use the fresh funding to expand in Indonesia, and explore new markets like Vietnam and the Philippines in partnership with Unilever. They also plan to expand beyond FMCG and into B2B industries.
• Fairbanc currently has partnerships with 13 consumer brands, including Unilever, Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Danone. The team also shared that they have onboarded over 350,000 merchants in less than 12 months.
• Congratulations to the Fairbanc team!
• Read the full story on TechCrunch.

Advancing the future of digital payments

• A 2020 partnership between 500-backed BNPL platform Kredivo and Bank DBS Indonesia has been extended for the second time, with the joint financing limit increased to ~US$133.5M.
• The two companies hope to accelerate credit distribution in the retail sector by increasing access for tens of millions of potential users in the next few years.
• The growth of digital credit penetration in Indonesia has been promising; a Kredivo and Katadata survey revealed that 38% of consumers used BNPL when shopping online in the past year — an increase from 28% in the previous year.
• Umang Rustagi, CEO of Kredivo Indonesia, said, “This additional joint financing facility is a validation of the potential of the fintech industry in opening up access to digital credit that is fast, easy, and affordable. Through solid collaboration with banks such as Bank DBS Indonesia, we are optimistic that in the future, access to digital financial services in Indonesia will be more inclusive and can be beneficial to various levels of society.”
• Read the full announcement here.

The rise of the click-and-mortar

• While many parts of our lives are online now, we can’t deny that offline shopping still has its charm. Just ask 500-backed fashion platform Pomelo, which revealed a 93% increase in net revenue driven by a 134% growth in offline retail sales in the first half of 2022.
• In addition to an increase in sales at its physical stores, there is rising traction for its Tap.Try.Buy service that lets customers try on up to 15 clothing items in the comfort of their homes, and pay only for the items they keep. Items that aren’t a good fit can be returned for free via GrabExpress!
• The company said that this service accounts for more than 26% of orders that take place on Pomelo.
• Pomelo sells fashion items from over 700 local and global brands, as well as its own collections. Today, Pomelo has 27 shops across Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, with plans to eventually double its physical footprint across Southeast Asia.
• Read the full story on Tech in Asia.