BNPL startup Pace acquires early entrant Rely

PACE Enterprise, a Singapore "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) startup, has acquired the assets of its competitor Rely for an undisclosed sum.

Pace, which was launched last year by WeWork's former regional head Turochas "T" Fuad, will hire all Rely employees in roles aligned to their previous capacities, it said in a Wednesday (Mar 30) press statement.

Founded in 2017 by Hizam Ismail, Mohamed Abbas and Prakash Raja, Rely was the first BNPL startup in Singapore, offering consumers interest-free instalments on purchases. Its partner retailers include Qoo10 Singapore, Zalora and JD Sports.

Rely was valued at US$2.2 million in 2019, when it raised US$674,750 in funding, according to data platform VentureCap Insights. Its backers include Singapore-based family office Octava and an entity called Chua Chuan Leong Ventures Pte Ltd.

In 2020, Rely announced that Polaris, a unit of Goldbell Financial Services, would provide capital for up to S$100 million in BNPL transactions.

Rely's acquisition comes after another small BNPL player, hoolah, was acquired by cashback startup ShopBack, as announced last November. While BNPL was red-hot among venture capitalists last year, the segment faces headwinds, as regulators study the risks of fuelling consumer debt.