Fairbanc has secured USD 13.3 million in debt financing from digital lending arm of Pegadaian, a subsidiary of Bank Rakyat Indonesia, to broaden its operations in Indonesia, focusing on off-balance sheet financing via its newly introduced Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) gateway.

Fairbanc leverages the supply chain data of FMCG distributors to automate credit scoring and risk monitoring, thereby extending essential working capital to its clients.

The startup, which initially collaborated with Unilever in Bangladesh before expanding to Indonesia in 2021, offers MSMEs the opportunity to purchase inventory through BNPL credit.

This enabled Fairbanc to onboard more than 550,000 merchants as it does not require collateral, credit history, smartphone ownership, or digital literacy.

With its new capital, Fairbanc plans to make a bigger push into Indonesia, a country that hosts the fourth largest unbanked population globally, with 95 million adults still lacking a formal account at a financial institution. However, with a growing middle class, an increasingly tech-savvy youth population, and a regulatory environment encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, Indonesia is now home to the most billion-dollar tech start-ups in Southeast Asia (including Bukalapak, Go-Jek, Tokopedia, and OVO), boasting a range of e-commerce, ride-sharing, media distribution, and financial services.