StanChart, Atome in path-breaking US$500m financing deal

Published Wed, Oct 13, 2021 · 01:55 PM

IN an industry first, Standard Chartered (StanChart) will provide US$500 million in financing to Singapore-based "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) fintech Atome Financial, under a new 10-year partnership to be rolled out in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam in the next few months.

This tie-up will initially include BNPL services and later expand to include digital-lending products, said StanChart and Atome in a joint statement on Wednesday (Oct 13).

It aims to reach over 16 million customers in Asia by 2025 and gain access to multiple financial ecosystems to capture a share of the digital-lending market – estimated to be valued at US$92 billion by 2025 in South-east Asia alone.

Unlike banks, BNPL players generally take a lighter-touch approach in evaluating credit-worthiness, which means no credit checks, debt discussions and payslip requirements, among others. While convenient for consumers, it arguably raises credit risk for …