'Buy now, pay later' startup Pace raises debt financing led by Genesis, secures regional partnership

FINTECH startup Pace Enterprise has raised an eight-figure debt financing round led by venture debt firm Genesis Alternative Ventures.

The Singapore-based company operates a "buy now, pay later" solution that allows consumers to pay for their purchases over three interest-free instalments. Pace said on Wednesday that it has secured an exclusive regional partnership that will extend its offering to brands including Victoria's Secret and Michael Kors.

The partnership was made with Malaysia-based luxury goods and retail house Valiram, which represents over 20 international brands such as TUMI, Bath & Body Works, Steve Madden, as well as Nike in Thailand and Pedro in Malaysia.

Payment via Pace will be available upon checkout across websites, mobile apps and over 200 points-of-sale in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Macau.

Launched in January 2021, Pace is currently available at over 900 points-of-sale. Merchants using the service include ALDO, Miniso, Swee Lee, OG, Benjamin Barker, OSIM and FJ Benjamin.

Pace earns revenue from the transaction fees it charges merchants for each purchase. Merchants get the full payment for the consumer's purchase, less the transaction fee, while Pace manages repayments from the consumer.

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The company was founded by Turochas "T" Fuad, the former managing director of WeWork South-east Asia and Korea. Mr Fuad previously launched and scaled Travelmob and Spacemob, two startups that were acquired by vacation rental site HomeAway and co-working space startup WeWork respectively.

He joined WeWork after the Spacemob acquisition, scaling WeWork's presence in South-east Asia from three to 34 locations.

Pace raised US$5.3 million in seed equity funding led by Vertex Ventures and Alpha JWC, according to data platform VentureCap Insights. The round also drew an investment from JustCo co-founder Kong Wan Sing.

"We are very impressed with the incredible growth that Pace is experiencing. As one of the newer entrants, Pace has quickly captured the fintech market in the region," said Jeremy Loh, managing partner of Genesis Alternative Ventures, in a statement.