Kuala Lumpur, 18 April 2024 – Seedflex Technologies (Seedflex), an inclusive fintech company, raised seed funding from 500 Global to launch its proprietary shariah-compliant digital financing solution “Pay-As-You-Sell Advance™” (PAYS Advance) across Southeast Asia, starting first in Malaysia.

PAYS Advance offers a frictionless line of credit for cashless merchants to stay in control of their business, capital and growth. With a dynamic credit solution that automatically adjusts based on future revenue projections, and conveniently paying back the advance as a fractional deduction from future sales, cashless merchants can access up to 10 weeks of sales revenue in advance and repay the credit via their preferred repayment partner. Merchants enjoy peace of mind with a transparent one-time flat fee, and no late fees, interest charges or hidden costs.

Seedflex has started rolling out PAYS Advance in Malaysia to help underserved micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) businesses gain access to credit. The company aims to expand the service to a wider group of Malaysian cashless merchants across digital economy partner platforms later this year, with the goal of introducing it to new Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia, Thailand and beyond in 2025.

In Southeast Asia, there are more than 7 million cashless commerce MSMEs without access to frictionless digital credit. This number is expected to double by 2028 as more MSMEs start selling online and moving to cashless payment methods, including for their offline sales. Seedflex PAYS Advance allows these MSMEs to access credit based on their cashless commerce to enhance their business growth.

Ritwik Ghosh, Co-Founder & CEO of Seedflex said: “Despite advances in fintech, the fundamentals of credit underwriting and collection have sadly not changed. Underwriting is primarily based on static and historical data while collection is rooted in fixed and pre-agreed spiky installments. Our aim is to change the game and redefine credit for cashless commerce by providing a new, fair and transparent way for merchants to access financing that can help them scale and grow.”

Sauvik Datta, Co-Founder & COO of Seedflex said: “Our mission is to help address the widening digital credit gap that exists in global emerging markets today. We believe every merchant deserves a fair chance to succeed regardless of their size, and with the right access to credit, we can improve their odds of success.”

Khailee Ng, Managing Partner of 500 Global said: “Seedflex does not only facilitate credit; they are building a new generation of financial infrastructure that could facilitate capital flow to create jobs, grow businesses and fuel economic growth for nations for years to come. I believe that Seedflex’s technology allows hardworking people and the growing nations they serve to realise their fullest potential.”

While individual eCommerce platforms’ access to data is limited to their own ecosystem and partial view of a merchant, Seedflex was designed to be an open platform with the flexibility to integrate with multiple eCommerce platforms to serve the full credit needs of all merchants.