Zaver, a Swedish B2C buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) provider in Europe, recently closed a $10 million extension to its Series A funding round, bringing the total Series A to $20 million and total investment to date to $30 million. The company competes in Europe with big players like Klarna, PayPal, Santander, and BNP Paribas in the BNPL space.
Zaver stands out by claiming it can assess risk on BNPL cart sizes of up to €200,000 in real time, a stark comparison to other providers that typically fund up to €3,000. Founded by Amir Marandi and Linus Malmén in 2016 at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Zaver has strategic alliances with the Nissan Group for direct-to-consumer sales in the Nordics, as well as client relationships with Volkswagen and Porsche, enabling customers to even buy a car on BNPL.
According to Marandi, Zaver’s focus on advanced risk assessment algorithms sets it apart from competitors who mainly concentrate on marketing. He believes there is a growing demand for a “size-agnostic payment platform” that can accommodate transactions of €200,000, especially with the trend of increasing average online transaction values in the e-commerce industry.
The BNPL industry is evolving, with early players like Klarna, Trustly, Tink, and iZettle paving the way for larger OEMs to explore direct-to-consumer sales through BNPL. Investors in Zaver’s Series A funding round include FROS Ventures, Hållbar AB, Hobohm Brothers Equity, JOvB Investments, MAHR Projects, Skagerak Ventures, and the founders of King.com, Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi.
