<div>
 <ul>
 <li>
 
 Splitit has partnered with cloud-based rental payment platform letus (formerly RentMoola), to integrate its white-label &ldquo;Installments-as-a-Service&rdquo; solution with letus&rsquo;s platform.&nbsp;
 
 </li>
 <li>
 
 The integration will allow tenants to spread the cost of expenses such as security deposit and rent over several interest-free installments. All letus registered users will automatically qualify to use Splitit.
 
 </li>
 </ul>
 
 &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
 Analyst QuickTake: 
 Splitit diversified into the BNPL infrastructure space with the launch of Installments-as-a-Service in May 2022. The product was made available as an API embedded into the merchant&rsquo;s existing checkout process. Splitit also revealed that university e-commerce platform OCM, an existing client, was set to be the first to adopt its white-label solution beginning in Q3 2022.&lt;/ul&gt;
 
</div>

<div>
 
 <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/splitit-brings-its-installments-as-a-service-to-the-rental-market-through-its-partnership-with-letus-301598624.html">
 Press release
 </a>
 
 
 <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/partnerships/2022/splitit-partners-letus-installment-billing-rental-market/">
 PYMNTS.com
 </a>
 
 
 
</div>

Buy Now, Pay Later

Splitit partners with letus to bring installment payments to property rental market

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 
 Colombia's Addi, a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service provider, has recently secured a total funding of USD 86 million. The recent funding round included USD 36 million in equity funding from investors like Union Square Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and GIC Private Ltd. They also received USD 50 million in debt funding from the Goldman Sachs Group. With this recent funding, Addi's total funding to date has reached nearly USD 462 million, despite experiencing an estimated 50% drop in valuation from its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7447"> USD 700 million valuation </a> recorded in 2021.
 The company has now decided to put on hold its original plans to expand into Brazil and Mexico. Instead, they aim to utilize the recently secured funds to further support and enhance their expansion within their domestic market in Colombia.
 Despite these changes, Addi reported impressive growth statistics over the years. They reported over 60% growth in its user base, reaching over 2 million users in 2023. On the other hand, they also witnessed more than 13 times growth in terms of merchant partners, ballooning from an initial 1,000 in 2021 to a whopping 13,500 in 2023.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Despite the drop in valuation nearly two years after Addi raised <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/7447"> USD 205 million </a> in combined debt and equity funding in December 2021, the company has reported significant growth in its client base and merchant partners. Addi intends to maintain its growth momentum by focusing on growing in its home market.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Addi raises USD 86 million in funding; estimated post-money valuation drops in half

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 
 Singapore's Atome, a flexible payment solution provider, has partnered with digital insurance provider Chubb to develop insurance products for customers in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
 Utilizing Chubb’s digital insurance technology, Atome will introduce Bill Secure, its first insurance product which covers up to five times the transaction amount for Buy-Now-Pay-Later consumers in case of permanent disability or accidental death. Initially available in Singapore, it will be launched in Malaysia soon. A second product, Shopping Secure, is due to launch in the second quarter.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Atome is actively pursuing its product diversification strategy focused on expanding its offerings to provide services, such as insurance, cards, and investments. The company had also secured USD 31 million through an <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/25270"> internal share conversion </a> in January 2024 to support its ongoing diversification efforts.

Atome partners with Chubb to offer insurance products across Southeast Asia

<div>
 
 Kafene, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service that focusses on consumer goods like furniture and electronics, has entered into a partnership with BrandSource, a US and Canadian ecommerce platform specialising in home furnishings and consumer tech products. This collaboration aims to support Kafene's business expansion and increase its product accessibility.
 As part of the partnership strategy, Kafene aims to leverage BrandSource's extensive network of over 4,500 independent affiliated retailer members in the US and Canada to boost the reach of its products. This plan revolves around Kafene's tiered lease-to-own (LTO) pricing model, which, according to the company, provides customers with flexible financing terms that are specifically designed to match their risk profiles.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Leading up to this partnership, Kafene had recently secured USD 15 million in a <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/26179"> venture debt facility </a> to scale up its commercial operations and broaden its consumer base (January 2024) and raised USD 12.6 million in <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/22365"> Series B extension </a> to accelerate its merchant partnerships and increase capital allocation with consumer underwritings (October 2023).

Kafene partners with BrandSource to expand product reach

<div>

An UAE's Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform, Tabby, has entered into a collaboration with EasyPay, a POS and online payment gateway based in Bahrain. The objective behind this alliance is to extend BNPL services in Bahrain.
As part of the joint venture, Tabby aims to broaden its product distribution in Bahrain with the use of EazyPay's POS terminals. The collaboration will allow Tabby to offer its "Pay in 4" solution to customers, enabling them to divide their purchases into four monthly installments without any interest.

</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Three weeks ago, Tabby launched " <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/26975"> Tabby+ </a> ," its pay-in-four flexible payment offering. It allows users to make purchases anywhere Visa is accepted and split payments into four installments without interest or other fees. The service charges a monthly subscription fee of AED 49 (~USD 13) and offers 1% cashback on all purchases, 24/7 priority support, and a free first-month trial.

Tabby partners with EasyPay to expand product reach in Bahrain

<div>
 
 The UK-based BNPL provider, Zilch, is close to profitability and is planning an IPO next year, as announced by CEO Philip Belamant. The firm anticipates being cash flow-positive and generating monthly profits by the start of its next fiscal year.
 Bearing in mind the possibility of listing on the Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, or the London Stock Exchange, Zilch is being considered. In addition, Belamant is actively advocating for financial innovation in the UK through his involvement with Innovate Finance's Unicorn Council.&nbsp;
 Boasting over 4 million customers, Zilch provides credit services with a six-week repayment structure. The company is also growing its advertising sales platform and considering the introduction of longer-term loans.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Zilch’s latest publicly disclosed post-money valuation stands at USD 2 billion after its USD 50 million <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/11403"> extended Series C funding </a> in June 2022. Over the past two years, Zilch has <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/7780"> extended its partnership with Mastercard </a> to launch BNPL cards across Europe, expanded geographically by launching its <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/10520"> platform in the US </a> , and broadened product offerings with the launch of an <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/19211"> Ad-Subsidized Payments Network </a> and " <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/26933"> Pay over 3 months </a> ," an interest-free regulated credit offering in the UK.

Zilch eyes potential IPO in 2025

<div>
 
 Swedish company Klarna, which offers Buy Now Pay Later services, has introduced open banking-powered transactions in the United Kingdom. This move allows its consumers to make payments directly from their bank accounts.
 
 The aim behind introducing open banking payments is to decrease the cost of transactions and improve lending decisions. This is achieved by avoiding standard card networks and instead utilizing current bank account information.
 
 In order to pay via their banking application, Klarna users simply need to select the "Pay by bank" option. By linking bank data, Klarna can provide consumers with insight into their spending, offer budgeting tools, and make more informed lending decisions based on spending behaviour.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 The SEPA Payment Account Access Scheme (SPAA), led by the European Payments Council, extends beyond the EU's Payment Services Directive (PSD2) requirement, offering banks ways to monetize their open banking APIs and foster collaboration between banks and FinTechs. In recent months, various FinTech infrastructure providers, such as <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/25545"> TrueLayer </a> , <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/25924"> Token </a> , <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/26940"> Tink </a> , and <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/27100"> Volt </a> , have joined SPAA to improve open banking monetization.

Klarna launches open banking-powered settlements in UK

<div>
 Credova, a payment solutions provider, is merging with the marketplace platform, PublicSquare. The agreement involves the exchange of roughly 2.9 million shares of PublicSquare Class A common stock for all existing shares of Credova and the cancellation of Credova's subordinated debt through repayments or exchanges for newly-issued 10-year PublicSquare promissory notes, convertible into Class A common stock.
 Post-acquisition, Credova will be a subsidiary under PublicSquare. Dusty Wunderlich, Credova's CEO, will join PublicSquare, helping maintain operations of Credova's business as part of the PublicSquare entity.
 With this acquisition, PublicSquare aims to incorporate Credova's offerings into its marketplace, building an all-inclusive platform featuring payments, financing solutions, and a marketplace. This acquisition also grants PublicSquare immediate entry into the BNPL payments market, leading to new sales and financing prospects for both Credova and PublicSquare merchants.
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Leading up to the acquisition, Credova also <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/20195"> partnered with Guidefitter </a> (July 2023) to leverage Guidefitter’s 300+ brand partners to increase its flexible payment product reach and with <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/22618"> Bravo Store Systems </a> (October 2023) to integrate Credova's BNPL solution into Bravo's software platform.

Credova acquired by PublicSquare in all-equity transaction to expand offerings

<div>
 
 Swedish Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) provider, Klarna, has been penalized SEK 7.5 million (approximately USD733,324) by a court of appeal in Sweden for breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU. The violation was due to Klarna's failure in providing adequate information to its users about the management and storage of their personal data.
 The GDPR of the EU requires companies to transparently disclose details about data collection, usage, and storage that pertains to personal user information. This case was focused on privacy notes that Klarna used from March to June 2020. The court found these notes were either unclear or challenging for users to access. Klarna has since updated these privacy notes.

</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 The legal imposition comes amidst Klarna’s anticipated <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/27044"> US IPO </a> in Q3 2024 with a USD 20 billion valuation after the company announced plans in November 2023 to <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/23500"> incorporate a new holding company </a> in the UK preluding its market floatation.

Klarna fined SEK 7.5 million (~USD 733,324) over insufficient GDPR information

<div>

Saudi Arabia's Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service provider, Tamara, has formed a partnership with UK-based digital identity verification platform, Uqudo. This collaboration aims to enhance privacy and security during digital transactions.
Uqudo was established in 2018 and provides digital identity verification services such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Near Field Communication (NFC), facial recognition, liveness and tampering detection. These services are used by various businesses within numerous sectors such as FinTech, cryptocurrency, banking and telecommunications across the Middle East and Africa region.
With this partnership, Tamara intends to incorporate Uqudo's identity verification technology into its own platform. This will offer customers improved privacy and security during BNPL transactions.

</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Today’s partnership news comes nearly a month after Tamara <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/25271"> partnered with Paymob </a> to offer an integrated installment payment processing solution for merchants in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and within three months of raising USD 340 million in a <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/25002"> Series C funding </a> to expand product offerings for broader banking opportunities in GCC region.

Tamara partners with Uqodo to strengthen platform security

<div>

Klarna, a Swedish BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) provider, is planning a US IPO (Initial Public Offering) potentially for Q3 this year. The company is in talks with investment banks to facilitate this move.
The company aims for a market valuation of approximately USD 20 billion. However, sources highlight that details and timings for the IPO could change in the latter part of the year.

</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Today’s news on Klarna’s anticipated IPO follows nearly three months after the company announced incorporating a <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/23500"> new holding company in the UK </a> in preparation for the IPO after being <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/11559"> valued at USD 6.7 billion </a> after the company’s USD 800 million funding round in July 2022—taking a steep discount from its <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/5159"> valuation of USD 45.6 billion </a> , when it raised USD 689 million in June 2021.

All Updates