Fintech startup Rely looks to SEA for expansion

The expansion plans come after Rely closed a seven-digit funding round.

Rely, a Singapore-based fintech company that offers a ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ service, has raised a seven-figure pre-Series A funding led by Goldbell Financial Services. Joining the growing list of startups raising funds from family offices in Singapore, a significant amount of funding was also secured from Octava foundation, a family office based in Singapore, and strategic investors from the financial and technology sector.

Founded in 2017, Rely uses its proprietary decision engine, which uses artificial intelligence and machine mlearning, to help determine shoppers repayment capabilities for each transaction. With Rely, shoppers can use the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ service upon checkout and enjoy their products without having to pay the full sum upfront. Goldbell Financial Services (GBFS) is the financial services arm of Goldbell Group, a financial institution in Singapore.

When founders of the fintech startup Rely started their first funding round,they realised that it was essential to have investors who understood the fintech industry and what they were doing in relation to the current industry.

This is why its CEO and co-founder Hizam Ismail thought that they were fortunate enough to be introduced to various investment networks, such as AngelCentral. “Fundraising is always a challenge for any startup as it can be a long and difficult process. Through our experience during this funding round, we found that a good way to get started would be to learn from industry veterans who have done this before,” he said.