HSBC and ING back buy-now-pay-later platform Divido with $30m

A who’s who of banks and investors have piled in to fund buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech Divido, which announced a $30m Series B fundraise last night.

Divido, which operates a platform for retailers to partner with lenders and offer custom-branded BNPL options on their online checkouts, said the cash will go towards further international expansion.

Among its investors are new backers HSBC and ING, who led the round, Sony Innovation Fund, SBI Investment, OCS, Global Brain and DG Daiwa Ventures, and existing backers DN Capital, Dawn Capital,IQ Capital and Amex Ventures. Phew!

“At Divido, we have created a global standard for banks, retailers and payment partners to connect seamlessly to offer ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ to consumers,” said Divido’s CEO and founder Christer Holloman.

“It is hugely exciting to have this round led by global clients, which is testament to the strength of our product and the strategic impact we deliver.”

BNPL has obviously become an incredibly hot sector in recent years, with Klarna letting retailers across Europe offer pay-later services and reaching a $31bn valuation with the help of rapper A$AP Rocky as a result.

Divido, based in north London, takes a rather different approach with its whitelabel platform letting retailers craft their own bespoke BNPL offerings.

“This is an exciting and rapidly growing market that is constantly evolving and accelerating following Covid,” said ING Ventures managing director Jan Willem Nieuwenhuize.

We see Divido as an innovator at the very forefront of the market, so perfectly fits the profile for the dynamic, disruptive companies we choose to partner with.”

Today Divido operates in 10 countries with more than 1,000 clients but, with fresh funding secured, expect those figures to grow rapidly.