Zilch, a buy now – pay later (BNPL) Fintech, has acquired NepFin in a move to expand the company’s offerings in the United States. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Neptune Financial, or NepFin, is a commercial lending Fintech that provides debt funding to entrepreneurs to grow their SMEs.
The news follows Zilch’s recent $80M Series B in April and $110 million extension. Zilch is a London-based firm that plans on securing needed regulatory approvals to expand in the US.
Albert Periu, who previously worked at Funding Circle, will be the CEO of the US operations with Thomas Meister joining as COO & General Counsel. Zilch aims to leverage this experience to fast-track launch in the US seeking to rapidly scale one of the UK’s fastest-growing Fintechs.
NepFin is said to currently have a California Finance Lenders License and compliance and regulatory framework.
“We’ve admired Zilch as a successful, fast growing innovator in the BNPL landscape for some time,” said Periu. “This is the second time one of my companies has been acquired by a U.K.-based company and I’m thrilled at how their mission, values and culture aligned with ours. Our team is looking forward to leveraging our prior experience, creating roots in Miami and attracting talent to solidify Zilch as a FinTech leader in the U.S. as we head into the end of 2021 and beyond.”
Philip Belamant, CEO and Founder of Zilch, said they have been exploring the US for expansion for some time and following the funding round it is time for their US launch:
“Albert, Tom, and their team have done tremendous work and adding them to our team enables us to hit the ground running with regulation top of mind. We’re highly confident that the team will mirror and build upon the success of Zilch as we bring the most scalable BNPL product to the US market.”
Zilch says this is their first step in international expansion with their BNPL product that enables consumers to shop and pay over time with zero fees and no interest rates.
By the end of the year, Zilch says it will scale its team considerably within the US market. Zilch adds that it is excited to be part of the Miami tech soon – a community that has recently emerged as a top entrepreneurial ecosystem.