Raylo, the subscription payment platform, recently revealed that it has acquired £6.5 million in additional capital, including an investment from Wayra UK, part of the international telecoms group, Telefónica, along with contributions from existing investors such as Octopus Ventures and Macquarie.
The capital will be directed towards further expanding Raylo’s data and engineering teams and speeding up the introduction of the Raylo Pay subscription payment service to retailers operating in the United Kingdom.
With the cost-of-living rising considerably, there has been an increase in demand for economical ways to access the products consumers may require.
The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) space has become known for its ‘Pay in 3’ model, and is popular for small and medium-sized purchases with various fashion and beauty retailers. But for large ticket items like consumer electronics, there is no viable solution to appropriately address consumer affordability and less-than-average checkout conversion rates.
Raylo supports consumers with accessing the latest products via an affordable, monthly subscription plan that’s practical and sustainable.
Retailers get paid upfront and in full (no extra fees) for purchases, meanwhile, consumers pay only a small fraction of the overall cost of the product during the subscription term.
When clients want to upgrade, the old products get returned and enter Raylo’s circular process of refurb and recommerce for max lifespan and sustainability.
Raylo’s retailer pipeline extends across categories such as consumer electronics. Affordable Mobiles, a UK electronics retailer, is among the first to add Raylo Pay to their checkout, offering their clients 12, 24 and 36 month subscriptions across tablets, laptops and mobile phones.
Bruno Moraes, MD of Wayra UK, said:
“There is a clear shift in consumer behaviour and their preference for subscription based payment models. There’s an appetite for more affordable options to purchase great technology and devices. The Raylo team has proven success in delivering on this consumer trend, and we look forward to helping them scale up their platform through our strategic resources and networks.”
Raylo co-founder and CEO, Karl Gilbert, remarked:
“We are delighted that Telefónica shares our vision of bringing our Raylo Pay solution to retailers across the UK and beyond. Subscriptions are a fundamentally better way to sell any durable product with a regular upgrade cycle – retailers enjoy a significant conversion uplift, consumers pay a fraction of the cost each month, and we avoid the wastefulness that has been encouraged under other payment models.”