Paidy announces strategic investment from Visa

Paidy Inc, an instantly-issued post-pay credit provider, has recently announced an investment from financial services corporation Visa as part of the company’s Series C funding. Paidy is cited to be Japan’s first instantly-issued post-pay credit service for e-commerce consumers. In addition, the two companies are partnering on new digital payment experiences that will give Japanese consumers more options when buying online and in-store.

Paidy does not require pre-registration or a credit card to use; Paidy consumers purchase products online using a mobile phone number and email address (verification is established though a four-digit code sent via SMS) and settle all their purchases in a single monthly bill.

Paidy also supports instalment and subscription payments. There are currently over 1,500,000 Paidy users as of August this year.

While Japan is among the world’s fastest growing e-commerce markets, it is also heavily reliant on cash. Visa and Paidy have a shared objective to offer consumers more convenient alternatives to current popular payment methods, such as cash on delivery. The companies’ collaboration will also support Paidy’s expansion into new types of services for their customers.

“We have been following Paidy’s progress and the enhanced shopping experience they provide at the time of purchase,” said Chris Clark, regional president, Asia -Pacific, Visa. “In Japan, there is enormous opportunity to bring consumers more options to pay, whether all at once or in instalments, especially when shopping across multiple channels. We look forward to this partnership to deliver this kind of new experiences.”

Russell Cummer, founder and executive chairman of Paidy, said: “We are extremely honoured that Paidy’s business concept was highly valued by the world's largest payment network, Visa. Through this tie-up, we expect to deliver Paidy’s frictionless and intuitive transactional credit to a much broader audience. Furthermore, by adding new payment functions and diverse financial services, together with Visa, we can promote our vision of removing barriers and create unique consumer experiences for as many people as possible.”

By Muneerah Bee