Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
NEWSLETTER

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

BNPL boom: Klarna rival Scalapay raises $497M Series B, becomes Italy’s first tech unicorn 

Scalapay

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) space has been one of the most alluring fintech verticals since last year and have been on a tear with valuations going through the roof. One of the most significant pieces of evidence for this is when US fintech giant Square acquired Australian Klarna rival Afterpay for $29B.

Now, the news is just in that, based out of Milan — Scalapay — the BNPL for e-commerce merchants in Europe has raised a whopping funding round of $497M in Series B. The round was led by Tencent and Willoughby Capital, with participation from Tiger Global, Gangwal, Moore Capital, Deimos, and Fasanara Capital. Goldman Sachs advised Scalapay as a placement agent for the round.

With this the BNPL solution has also crossed £1 billion valuation and has hit unicorn status, making it the very first tech unicorn coming out of Italy.

Offering payments in installments

Scalapay is an innovative payment solution for e-commerce merchants across the globe that allows customers to buy now and pay later, without interest. Their BNPL offerings include three options for customers (Pay in 3, Pay in 4, and Pay Later) in which customers are not required to make any payments upfront, and can instead opt to pay in 3 installments, 4 installments, or entirely after 14 days. They are making the purchasing experience more delightful and easy for customers by lightening the financial impact. 

Driven by its mission of empowering merchants to offer their customers amazing experiences, Scalapay has also launched a platform called Magic. The platform is designed to revolutionize the checkout experience for customers and solve the most painful areas for merchants wishing to provide a world-class e-commerce solution. 

Scalapay was founded by Simone Mancini and Johnny Mitrevski in 2019. The founding team also comprises Raffaele Terrone, Daniele Tessari and Mirco Mattevi. The company has raised over $700M in funding to date. Since its recent Series A round, Scalapay has grown its payment volume three times month over month. 

“With interest-free installments, we transformed one of the most frustrating parts of the shopping experience, the payment, into something pleasurable,” says Simone Mancini, Co-Founder, and CEO of Scalapay. “Now with Magic, we are going one step further and helping European merchants transform their entire checkout experience, leverage a large network of shoppers, and offer repeat-like purchase experiences which drive significant increases in conversion.” 

“There is an incredible opportunity for Magic to redefine European eCommerce, which has a lesser reputation compared to its US peers. With Magic, we have removed all the common friction points at checkout and addressed key reasons for cart abandonment such as signup or login, shipping, payment selection, and privacy consents. We have done this whilst respecting Europe’s strict PSD2 and GDPR rules,” says Johnny Mitrevski, Co-Founder, and CTO of Scalapay.

Scalapay continues to build a world-class team and aims to double its number of employees by the end of the year. They are also planning on expanding their executive team and company board. Some of their recently added board members are Amit Jhawar, former CEO of Venmo, and former COO and CFO at Braintree.

“Scalapay is a brilliant solution that matches an elegant merchant solution with a simple but powerful user experience. I knew Scalapay was a winner when I saw the merchant and consumer experiences that perfectly delivered value to both sides of the two-sided network in Southern Europe,” said Amit Jhawar.

The Italian Unicron currently works with major international merchants and retailers, including Shein, Decathlon, Calzedonia, Morgandetoi (Beaumanoir Group), Swappie, Moschino, Don’t Call Me Jennifer, Samsonite, Nike, and Pandora, among others. They are also the official sponsor for Milan Fashion Week. 

With so much funding pouring into the BNPL category and mergers already happening, it will definitely be interesting to watch how things will turn out this year. Consequently, TFN did dig out some of the most sizzling BNPL startups making huge waves in 2022, across the globe.

Related Posts
Total
5
Share

Get daily funding news briefings in the tech world delivered right to your inbox.

Enter Your Email
join our newsletter. thank you