BNPL fintech Qlarifi secures pre-seed funding of £1.4M

Qlarifi, a BNPL fintech startup, has raised a pre-seed funding round of £1.4M backed by a combination of HoneyComb Asset Management, Carthona Capital and a selection of angel investors including Australian rugby legend John Eales. The funding will be used to build out data infrastructure and drive customer acquisition across key markets.

Qlarifi provides a real-time, comprehensive consumer credit database designed to enhance risk management and fraud detection for lenders. It offers detailed data on consumer credit usage, with a particular focus on Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) transactions, which are often excluded from traditional credit reports.

By updating data every 3.5 seconds, Qlarifi enables lenders to make more accurate and timely underwriting decisions, improving the access to credit for responsible consumers while identifying those in financial distress.

The service also strengthens fraud prevention by detecting potential fraud patterns earlier, allowing lenders to act quickly. With a strong emphasis on data privacy and security, Qlarifi ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA. Its infrastructure is built for scalability and is designed to reduce operational risks and scoring costs for lenders by providing up-to-date and relevant consumer data. This makes Qlarifi an effective tool for modernizing consumer credit assessments, particularly in the growing BNPL sector. There are nearly 415,000 daily BNPL applications in the UK.

“Our reason for building Qlarifi was to create transparency and a fit-for-purpose solution to a problem that’s been frustrating us for too long. We’re proud that the industry has responded so positively. They’ve been crying out for the real time information Qlarifi provides.” said Alex Naughton, CEO and Co-Founder of Qlarifi.

“This funding round reflects the confidence our investors have in our mission, and enables us to take the next leap in our growth journey. “We’re delighted to invest in Qlarifi as they work to transform the rapidly growing BNPL market,” said Dean Dorrell, Partner at Carthona Capital. “With BNPL becoming an even more dominant force, their focus on delivering next generation technology is perfectly timed to meet the industry’s evolving needs.” 

“Qlarifi is tackling transparency in a booming industry that is demanding their solution. The response Alex, Loic and the team have already received will be important for both businesses and consumers in the ecosystem”, added John Eales, businessman and former Australian rugby captain. “It’s exciting to have the opportunity to invest in their journey.”