Now

Now is a B2B BNPL payment solution founded by Lara O’Connor Hodgson and Stacey Abrams (co-founders of Nourish - a spill-proof bottle maker for infants). The idea for Now originated from their failure at Nourish, whose problem with invoicing led to cash flow issues that ultimately led to its closure. Now provides its services to US businesses generating more than USD 50 million in revenue. The product is called NowAccount, and it allows companies to submit an invoice and receive 100% of the invoice value within two days for a 2.5% to 5% service fee depending on the net terms. Now also charges an annual membership fee of USD 750.

The company uses its balance sheet financing to pay businesses and usually gets repaid over 50 days. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it claims repayments extended to between 70-80 days. As of October 2021, Now reportedly serves more than 1,000 businesses and has processed more than USD 702 million in transactions on its platform since inception.

Since 2020, Now has entered several partnerships, collaborating with the Fulton County Government, Park Place Payments (credit card processing company), and The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (leading advocacy organization for small business development) in connection to advocating flexible payments for SMEs.

In October 2021, Now raised USD 29 million in funding via a credit facility, as well as an equity investment, in a funding round co-led by Brigade Capital Management and Virgo Investment Group. The new funding follows a Series A funding round of USD 9.5 million in June 2021. The credit facility is expected to be allocated toward expanding its merchant network, while the equity funding is expected to be funneled into platform development and to scale its operations.