Bain Capital has invested $20 million in Korean digital lending platform PeopleFund’s Series C extension round, while Philippines-based BNPL provider BillEase has partnered with Ant Group-operated Alipay+.
PeopleFund bags $20m
Bain Capital has invested $20 million in Korean digital lending platform PeopleFund’s Series C extension round, according to TechCrunch.
The funding round was led by Bain Capital, while Access Ventures, CLSA Capital Partners Lending Ark Asia, D3 Jubilee Partners, 500 Global, Kakao Investment, TBT Partners, and IBX Partners also participated, adding $20 million to its $63.4 million Series C round.
The company plans to use the new capital for meeting one of the requirements for a P2P lending licence, investing in AI-powered risk management and credit scoring system for borrowers, lenders, and financial institution, reported TechCrunch.
Founded in 2015 by Joey Kim, People Fund is a P2P lending platform for unsecured loans and diversified alternative investment products.
BillEase partners with Alipay+
Philippines-based BNPL provider BillEase has partnered with Ant Group-operated Alipay+, per a release.
The partnership aims to revolutionise the digital payment landscape through BillEase’s consumer credit services in the Philippines by enabling consumers to use a card-free instalment option to shop at more global brands online.
“We look forward to working closely with Alipay+ to help BillEase expand its global online merchant coverage. This partnership is also a major boost for financial inclusion in the Philippines as it will make not only financial services more accessible to millions of Filipinos but also global online merchants reaching wider and more diverse customers like ours,” said Georg Steiger, CEO and co-founder of BillEase.
Founded in 2017, BillEase is the first Philippines-based BNPL provider to partner with Alipay+. BillEase has now over 2,000 merchant partners such as Philippine Airlines, Power Mac Center, Anson’s, Vivo, Kimstore, and Focus Global Inc among others. Aside from shopping, the BillEase app can be used for e-wallet top-ups, gaming credits, mobile load purchases, and bill payments.