UK buy now, pay later outfit Zilch is preparing to launch its retailer agnostic digital card offering to European consumers.
Zilch only opened in beta in 2019, looking to distinguish itself in the crowded BNPL arena by connecting directly with customers and using soft background credit checks performed by Credit Kudos via Open Banking to determine affordability.
With the BNPL market booming, Zilch has racked up 1.7 million customers across the UK and is intent on expanding across Europe and into the US market.
The firm in November raised $110 million in a Series C funding round at a $2 billion valuation, with plans to use the funding for a move into the US, where it recently acquired debt funding platform Neptune Financial to fast-track its launch stateside.
The push into EU markets comes via an extended partnership with Mastercard, enabling customers to shop wherever Mastercard is accepted and spread their payment over six weeks for zero interest and zero fees.
Philip Belamant, Zilch founder and CEO, said, “With our partner Mastercard we remove acceptance as a barrier and enable our customers to pay overtime anywhere, instantly."