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Digital lender Zopa has said that it is to purchase buy-now pay-later firm DivideBuy as it kicks off a dealmaking push following a funding round earlier this year.
The deal marks the London-based bank’s first acquisition and comes after it raised a £75m warchest in January, which bosses said would be channelled into dealmaking. Zopa did not disclose the value of the deal this morning.
The two firms are now set to team up to offer credit to customers for bigger purchases between £250 and £30,000. It comes after the bank first announced a push into the crowded BNPL market in June last year with what it called BNPL 2.0.
“This acquisition helps us bring to life BNPL 2.0, an evolution of BNPL which we believe delivers the easy, integrated product which customers love whilst also addressing some of the issues around affordability and responsible lending which have plagued the sector,” Zopa boss Jaidev Janardana said today.
Zopa, a licensed bank, will offer customers a fully regulated product to customers. The launch comes as the Treasury confirmed earlier this week that it would grant the FCA powers to regulate the sector this year.
DivideBuy allows merchants to offer their customers interest free payment options at checkout. Shoppers can spread the cost of their purchases over a 2-12-month period with over 400 merchants.
Robert Flowers, CEO at DivideBuy said in a statement “we were delighted to be approached by Zopa in its search for a POS finance provider to support its vision of building Britain’s best bank.”