Sunbit Gets $355 Million to Grow BNPL Business
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Sunbit has received a $355 million debt warehouse facility.
The new financing, announced Monday (Nov. 4), was led by J.P. Morgan, Mizuho Bank Ltd. and Waterfall Asset Management following a $310 million facility earlier this year with Citi and Ares Management.
“2024 has been a breakout year for Sunbit, and we’re thrilled to close the year with such a significant sign of support from the most prestigious and established brands in finance,” James Paris, the company’s chief capital officer, said in a news release. “Our decision to stay focused on consumer benefits and experience, coupled with operational discipline, has strategically positioned Sunbit to deliver the right results, at the right time.”
The release noted that this year has seen a number of milestones for Sunbit. For example, its credit card platform was selected by three new retail partners this year, and it recently launched an integration with Stripe, the largest of its FinTech partnerships.
The company also expanded its market footprint to encompass more than half of the dealership auto services market, and became the second largest and the fastest-growing dental patient finance player, with a presence in more than 12,000 practices.
In other BNPL news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this week about the way Donald Trump’s return to the White House may impact the industry.
“Generally speaking, financial services stocks soared Wednesday, likely on the removal of uncertainty, but also on the prospect of regulatory rollbacks,” that report said. “BNPL names were especially notable, as Affirm’s stock rallied 7% at the open, and Sezzle gathered more than 9%.”
There’s also a lawsuit making its way through the court system that aims to derail a rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would extend the same disclosure practices that are hallmarks of credit cards to BNPL companies.
The suit, filed by the Financial Technology Association (FTA), argues that the disclosure mandates are “ill-fitted” for BNPL products. If the CFPB rule is enacted, BNPL firms would need to adopt Regulation Z obligations covering account disclosures, billing statements, returns and disputes.
The FTA’s suit contended that complying with periodic statement issuance — as applied to credit cards — is “infeasible for BNPL products.” The BNPL companies would also need to embrace a “significant buildout of technology and processes” to satisfy requirements connected to billing error disputes.
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