The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | December 18th

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Sell first, Pay suppliers later

Axis Bank in partnership with GuarantCo, a part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has extended an INR 2.5 billion ($30 million) three-year loan to Vivriti Capital to expand its portfolio by lending to companies operating in the eMobility ecosystem in India.

GuarantCo has provided a 50% on-demand credit guarantee to Axis Bank for this transaction.

This guarantee is provided under the $200 million (INR equivalent) framework guarantee agreement, which is signed by Axis Bank and GuarantCo to allow the mobilisation of funds between $300 and $400 million (INR equivalent) to finance the e-mobility ecosystem in India. Axis Bank has closed this transaction under the framework agreement with GuarantCo which was announced under an MoU during COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021.

The financing solution provided by Axis Bank and GuarantCo to Vivriti Capital, is estimated to increase the number of electric vehicles and charging stations deployed which will reduce CO2 emissions and contribute towards progressing the SDGs in India.

Stockholm-based FinTech Treyd is bringing its ‘sell first, pay suppliers later’ offering to inventory-based SMEs in Ireland. The launch provides Irish SMEs with a new way of financing inventory and follows Treyd’s entry into the UK in 2022.

Treyd pays suppliers upfront on behalf of growing retail businesses, which solves the common challenge of having working capital tied up in inventory. This enables D2C and B2B SMEs to sell more goods, control cash flow, and finance inventory purchases for up to four months to free up capital for operational growth.

Treyd’s offering will provide Irish SMEs with an innovative method of stock financing, providing an alternative to existing revenue-based solutions. Irish SMEs will now be able to extend payment terms on supplier invoices by 120 days, relieving cash flow pressures associated with buying stock.

In 2022, Treyd grew its global customer base of small and medium enterprises by 500% and revenue by 1000%, while also expanding internationally, including into the UK where it now works with over 150 SMEs.

Zip payment solutions

Zip, an Australia-based BNPL provider has partnered with Google Pay in order to offer flexible payment options at checkout for merchants and customers in the US. This integration, scheduled for a pilot launch in January 2024, comes as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) adoption is on the rise, offering consumers enhanced flexibility in their payment choices at checkout.

Zip products stand out as modern and convenient payment solutions, proven to boost checkout conversion rates and increase average cart sizes for merchants. This new feature, coming soon to select merchant Android apps that offer Google Pay for checkout or when shopping on select merchant sites from an Android device, will be available to merchants at no additional integration.

Zip Co-founder and U.S. CEO Larry Diamond, said, “With Zip available in the Google Pay checkout experience, we are bridging a gap and providing a flexible credit product for the many consumers overlooked by traditional credit products. By offering Zip payment solutions through Google Pay, we’re empowering consumers with more choices while providing merchants with a powerful tool to increase conversion rates and build lasting customer relationships.”

Visa, a digital payments, and ALEXBANK, a bank of Intesa Sanpaolo Group, signed an extended partnership agreement for five years. The partnership aims to encourage the use of electronic payment methods through introducing new products that target new segments.

Malak El Baba, Egypt Country Manager at Visa, said, “We are so excited to be expanding our partnership with ALEXBANK Through this partnership, we will continue bringing more of the latest in innovative and secure digital payments to the bank’s cardholders and support the Egyptian Central Bank’s digital commerce agenda for the country. This partnership renewal is testimony of ALEXBANK confidence in Visa’s innovative products and services, and we look forward to helping them extend the benefits of the digital economy to more Egyptian cardholders.”

The agreement extends to include an exclusive partnership on debit cards, in addition to launching new consumer high-end products such as, premium Debit Cards, Visa Signature Debit for the Private Segment and Visa Infinite Debit, targeting the High-Net-worth Segment.

What is the buzz

Microlending start-up KreditPE has offered an acquisition proposal to FinTech lending startup ZestMoney. KreditPE founder Bhambri said he has utmost respect for what the founders have built and the impact the venture has made while adding that the BNPL platform is ‘too good to shut down’.

He said it was possible to create a much more successful product than PhonePe if KreditPE acquired ZestMoney. This comes at a time when Buy now pay later platform ZestMoney is shutting down its operations by December end. It will also let go of around 150 employees currently working with the company.

In May, the company’s three co-founders, Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman, resigned as the firm failed to raise a new round and strike acquisition deal with digital payment platform PhonePe. Meanwhile, Prosus wrote off its $38 million investment in ZestMoney. The investor held a sizable 19.4% stake in the Bengaluru-based firm.