Zilch maintains a $2bn valuation as it tops up Series C by $50m

While the environment for buy now, pay later lenders has been highly challenging these last few months, London-based Zilch appeared to buck the trend today.

Zilch has secured an additional $50m in funding to top-up its $110m Series C funding round from November and, most impressively, has done so while maintaining its $2bn valuation.

“This extension is a great endorsement of our unique model as well as our investors' belief in our ability to deliver on our mission to create the worldʼs most empowering way for people to pay for anything, anywhere,” said Zilch CEO and co-founder Philip Belamant.

Zilch didn’t introduce any new investors as participating in the round, only outlining the list of existing investors the company has like Ventura Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Gauss Ventures, DMG Ventures, M&F Fund and Limited Ventures.

The news comes after The Treasury in the UK outlined proposals to regulate the industry, and as the largest European player, Klarna, had to start a painful round of layoffs and is reportedly facing a hit to its valuation of up to 67 per cent at its next funding round due to shifting customer demand.

Zilch meanwhile said its business remains in growth mode, with its upcoming US launch already seeing 150,000 customers preregistered and at growth rates that are 4x what the lender said it say in the UK.

“In a world of rising interest rates and inflation, it has never been more important for customers to have access to a payment product that they can depend on for savings, deals and cash flow management with no interest or late fees of any kind,” said Belamant.

“Open Banking data shows how customers of all ages are migrating away from traditional high-cost credit cards or overdrafts in favor of services like Zilch—saving them millions.”

Belamant also believes Zilch is ahead of any regulatory headwinds, given the company is already partnered with Experian on credit data sharing, and uses open banking technology plus its own credit checks to assess the affordability of its customers in real-time.