Europe has no shortage of ‘buy now, pay later’ startups and a quick search is revealing. Berlin-based fintech startup Mondu has taken in €39.9 million to expand its B2B BNPL solution. Madrid’s RITMO scored over €184 million. Tranch in the UK is launching BNPL to a B2B market with €4 million. Berlin-based Billie raises about €86.2 million. The list goes on!
The latest to enter the BNPL field attacking the B2B/SME market is Playter a London-based BNPL platform aimed at SMEs. It’s now closed a $55 million funding round from Adit Ventures and Fasanara Capital, with Fin Capital and Act Venture Capital and 1818 Ventures also participating. The funding is a mixture of equity and debt, but what the split of this is wasn’t released. The investment follows seed funding of $1.7 million in March.
Jamie Beaumont, founder and CEO of Playter, said in a statement: “BNPL for business is a completely different concept to B2C BNPL. Right now, there are very few B2B purchases happening online. We’ve created a platform that gives total control for businesses to dictate what payment terms they want to have, helping them pay over 6-12 months, whilst their suppliers are still paid within 24 hours. With this superpower, we help businesses that want to scale regardless of the market conditions.”
Playter says it allows businesses to take control of payment terms so they can spread the cost of software, agency fees, rent, marketing, and other payments over 6 or 12 months. It says SMEs can access funds in 24 hours from application.
Jon Cholak, managing partner at Adit Ventures, said: “Playter’s management team, technical platform and customer-first focus all make for a compelling investment opportunity.”
Francesco Filia, CEO of Fasanara Capital, added: “As funding dries up for early-stage companies, Playter brings to the table an innovative and highly flexible funding offer that we believe will greatly benefit the ecosystem”.
