Shop online now, pay later. No credit cards needed with this startup

Loans and ecommerce come together on one platform as Singapore fintech startup, Onelyst, launches its new product on November 1.

Rely allows individuals who do not meet minimum income requirements for credit cards to buy items via installment plans.

The eighteen-month-old startup has nabbed a major online retailer as one of its first partners for Rely. It also has plans to enter the Indonesian market next March.

Responding to needs

“What we are doing [through Rely] is to help this group of under-served people to afford products that they really need in their life,” said Mohamed Abbas, 25, co-founder of Onelyst.

Abbas, who recently made it to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in Asia, adds: “Through analyzing our database, we understood that there is a huge segment of people who have stable incomes and good repayment ability, but do not have credit options.”

While Rely is the first platform of its kind in Singapore, there are other similar offerings elsewhere. In the U.S., for instance, FuturePay and GetFinancing both give online shoppers the option to shop at participating retailers on credit.

How does it work?

Rely bridges loan platforms and ecommerce together, in what Abbas says is the first of its kind in Singapore.

Rely will start off as a mobile-friendly website focusing on consumer electronics. Its goal: growing into a mobile application offering a wider range of products.

The platform’s users will be able to choose products, from handphones to tablets, offered by partner retailers, before requesting to buy the items on credit.

The startup then uses its internal score, developed through deep data analytics and analysis of non-traditional data points across users’ digital footprint, to complete its credit approval.

Once approved, the buyer will receive the merchandise, and repay through installments.

Future in a growing market

Rely aims to tap the rapidly growing ecommerce market in Singapore, which was valued at US$1 billion last year. According to a recent joint report by Temasek Holdings and Google, Singapore’s ecommerce market is expected to be worth US$5.4 billion by 2025.

The platform will also headline the startup’s first foray outside Singapore into the Indonesian market in March next year. The startup is already in discussions with lending partners and consumers in the region.

Responsible spenders should be given access to affordable credit.