[Funding alert] ZestMoney raises $50M in Series C investment from Zip Co

Buy now, pay later platform ZestMoneyhas raised $50 million Series C funding from global Buy Now, Pay Later provider Zip Co Limited. This is part of a larger Series C fundraise, which will see participation from existing investors. 

Zip will acquire a minority shareholding in the company and a board seat as part of the investment.  

The company plans to deploy the funds to expand the product suite, deepen the transaction network, strengthen its balance sheet capacity, and launch new business lines in insurance and savings. 

Lizzie Chapman, CEO and Co-founder, ZestMoney said, “We are thrilled to have Zip come onboard for the next phase in our journey of powering affordability in the lives of Indian consumers. This is a deep validation of our position as market leader in the Buy Now, Pay Later category in India.

"The shift towards Pay Later solutions is a global phenomenon and represents young digital consumers looking for transparency, honesty and no hidden charges in financial products."

She added that India will leapfrog traditional products like credit cards, along with many other emerging markets, going straight to digital payment solutions. 

"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 five years.” 

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Founded by Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman in 2015, ZestMoney allows customers to pay for products over time but enjoy them now. Increasing smartphone penetration, the cheapest data plans in the world, and a boom in online shopping have propelled the demand for Pay Later offerings in India.

Larry Diamond, CEO of Zip Co, said they were excited to partner with ZestMoney to "drive fair and responsible payment solutions in India".

"With more people using digital payments and choosing online shopping, ZestMoney can positively impact hundreds of millions of lives in the coming years. With deep partnerships with online and offline merchants and lending partners, Zest Money is poised to accelerate growth as the market develops,” Larry said.

ZestMoney offers the entire spectrum of Buy Now, Pay Later offering from 30 days to 24 months, and ticket sizes ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 5 lakh. It is a completely digital omnichannel BNPL player in the country, allowing customers to transact at 10,000+ online sites and 75,000 physical stores across the country. 

Founded in Australia in 2013, Zip has a presence in 12 markets across five continents, serving more than 7.3 million customers and over 51,000 merchants.