FDFC gets new equity funding for Billease

FIRST Digital Finance Corp. (FDFC), operator of cardfree “buy now, pay later” platform Billease, said it was able to raise some $11 million in fresh equity.

The round is led by Burdaprincipal Investments Ltd., the growth capital arm of German media and tech company Hubert Burda Media and a backer of Carsome, Ninja Van and Zilingo, the company said.

Other investors in the funding round include Centauri, a joint investment vehicle of Telkom Indonesia’s MDI Ventures and KB Investment and backer of Kredivo, 33 Capital from Singapore and Tamaz Georgadze, CEO and co-founder of European fintech unicorn Raisin DS, Europe’s leading marketplace for online deposits and investments.

“The Philippines is expected to be the fastest growing e-commerce market in the Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] region over the next five years. The country is fast becoming a red hot destination for venture investments as large funds start looking beyond Indonesia and this, in turn, is driving the rapid development of the ecosystem,” FDFC Co-founder and CFO Ritche Weekun, of First Digital Finance Corp. said.

The fresh funds would be used to further accelerate Billease’s customer growth, enhance and develop new products and attract top talent, the company said.

“The events over the last two years have increased the pressure on the fintech space, in particular, to evolve and we’re seeing growing demand for financial products. Our latest round of funding will help us grow at an unprecedented pace, allowing us to further increase financial inclusion in the country,” Weekun said.

At the intersection of e-commerce, payments and credit, “buy now, pay later” services, especially card-free apps, are emerging as key e-commerce enabling technology.

“BNPL services often rely on card payments. In the Philippines, less than 5 percent of the adult population owns a credit card and cash on delivery remains the primary mode of payment. To address this problem and expand the target market, we developed our proprietary credit, fraud and payment stack,” Georg Steiger, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said. While this requires more upfront investment, we are actually solving a more fundamental problem for customers and allow us to create long-term relationships.”

Launched in 2017, Billease provides merchants with installment solutions to boost their conversion rate and average order values by enabling customized installment payment products at checkout. For consumers, Billease serves as an alternative to credit/debit cards and e-wallets when shopping online.

Billease customers are given a credit limit which they can use at any of Billease’s over 500 merchant partners like gadgets retailer Kimstore or Philippine Airlines. Unlike traditional debit cards and e-wallets, customers do not have to top up before they can purchase online or offline. In addition to BNPL, the Billease app, available in both Apple Store and Google Play, also offers services such as personal loans, e-wallet top-ups to popular e-wallets, mobile loads and gaming credits, as well as future plans to expand the offerings.

As the Philippines experienced one of the strictest and longest lockdowns globally, consumers raced to adopt online shopping and payments. The company saw its growth accelerate ten-fold in 2021.