Japan’s Smartpay raised $7 M Pre-series A funding from SMBC Venture Capital

The $7 million pre-series A round led by Japanese technology investor SMBC Venture Capital saw oversubscription for Japanese Fintech leader Smartpay.

In addition to American venture capital firm Matrix Partners, European venture capital firm Global Founders Capital, and Japanese venture capital firm Angel Bridge participated in the round, according to a statement released by Smartpay on Monday.

As per the statement, Smartpay has introduced fully digital in-store payments with free automated installments in Japan this week.

With the help of newly developed technology, merchants can now set up Smartpay for in-store purchases with installments in just 30 seconds and at no cost for integration.

Its goal is to reach two million customers in two years and thirty thousand merchants in three.

“Japan is the fourth largest economy in the world. It is trillion dollars bigger than the Indian economy, 20 percent bigger than ASEAN and four times bigger than the Saudi economy,” its Chief Executive Officer and Founder Sam Pemberton Ahmed said.

“The impact of COVID on consumer needs, the renewed vigor in the Japanese economy that all merchants want to capture and the newly introduced policies and regulations by the government to accelerate digital transformation means Japan is right now going through a once in a 100-year transformation,

“We feel it is an honor to be part of a company that can play an important and positive role in the Japanese digital renaissance,” he added.

A fintech company in Japan called Smartpay provides free installments at the time of purchase, no interest, and no late fees.

Customers can pay for online purchases directly from their bank accounts with the company’s “Smartpay Bank Direct” digital financing service.

With this service, Japanese customers who would rather not use a credit card now have access to a digital payment option that fits their needs and offers convenient installment plans and digital financing.

Almost 200 credit unions and the 19 biggest banks in Japan have signed agreements with the company, making bank accounts available to 90% of the country’s population.

With assistance from the Japan Electronic Payments Promotion Organization, Smartpay Bank Direct was created (JEPPO).

Smartpay is known to assist merchants by creating a customer-focused checkout process that increases conversion and decreases cart abandonment rates on e-commerce websites.