Mapping the survivors of Southeast Asia’s BNPL funding drought

This is the latest version of the article, which was previously updated on August 31, 2022. Since then, we’ve added our analysis of the latest developments in the sector as well as new players and funding rounds to the list.

The last two years have been tough for the buy now, pay later (BNPL) industry in Southeast Asia. While there was over US$470 million in publicly announced investment in the region’s pure-play BNPL firms in 2023, funding this year has fallen to only US$136 million as of May, according to Tech in Asia data.

This comes as investors weigh the impact of rising interest rates and inflation on consumer spending.

The number of failed ventures, especially among pure-play BNPL firms, has risen significantly, with players like LatitudePay, Pace, and Ablr ceasing operations. Several retail and fintech firms which once offered BNPL services have also stopped offering them.

LatitudePay, which has services in Singapore and Malaysia, shut down in April. The firm, which announced its closure on its website, gave no reason for the move.

Pace, which had raised over US$40 million in series A funding and acquired competitor Rely, filed for liquidation last September. In court documents, it cited its liabilities as the reason for winding up.

Meanwhile, Singapore-based ShopBack acquired Hoolah in 2021 with a plan to extend the payments solution to the thousands of merchants already on ShopBack’s rewards platform.

However, in March of this year, just under two years since the feature’s rollout, ShopBack stopped offering its BNPL product, ShopBack PayLater, in both Singapore and Malaysia.

See also: Buy now, pay later’ is not dead

Over in Vietnam, WowMelo, a BNPL firm owned by local software development company Fram, also appears to be inactive. Its website is still operational, but the company hasn’t posted on its social media channels since 2022. Fram did not respond despite Tech in Asia’s multiple attempts to reach the firm.

Ablr is another company that seems to have just faded away. The Malaysia-based company was in the process of being accredited as a BNPL firm in Singapore in November 2023 but later pulled out.

While the company did not officially announce its closure, a status change on PitchBook said the firm is “out of business.” Ablr’s website is also offline.

Ablr co-founder and CEO Amanda Chin’s LinkedIn profile shows she left the company in June 2023. Meanwhile, Ablr co-founder Ian Ow has taken on the role as CEO of Abnk, a BNPL firm that has just recently come onto the market. Ow could not be reached for comment in time for publication.

The survivors

Investors still looking for a way in

Retail and fintech BNPL still going strong