Sezzle

Sezzle was founded in 2016, by Charlie Youakim (currently CEO), Paul Paradis (CRO), and Killian Brackey (CTO) in Minneapolis, U.S.[4][5][10] Sezzle raised over US$17 million in equity capital prior to its IPO, where it raised an additional US$30 million. The company also has a US$100 million debt facility from Bastion capital.[11][12][13] In May 2019, Sezzle partnered with Bank of America Merchant Services to implement their digital card processing solution within the payment platform.[14]

In early 2019, Sezzle turned on the ability for Canadian consumers to use the platform and highlighted a Canadian retail partnership with the streetwear clothing retailer Kappa.[15][16][17]

The Sezzle e-commerce payment platform, launched in 2017, enables customers of participating online stores to split the payment for their purchases into four installments. The first installment is paid at the moment of purchase while the other three are due at regular intervals over the following six weeks.[10][18]

Instead of relying solely on a customer’s FICO score for credit risk evaluation, Sezzle’s underwriting system assesses each order individually and takes into account multiple factors including a soft credit score check, the customer’s order history with Sezzle, and the total purchase amount.[10][19] The customer’s credit score is not impacted.[18] Sezzle’s service comes at no added cost to the consumer.[10][19] Repeat customers who have paid off previous purchases on time are allowed to finance the purchase of more expensive products.[5]

The platform operates as an alternative payment method that the customer selects at checkout to enable payment with participating retailers. Users can also shop and find stores through the Sezzle app and website.[20]

On 30 December, 2019 the company introduced a "buy now and pay later" service in California to its customers but the California Department of Business Oversight ruled that the company instead of offering an interest-free pay later service makes loans to its customer.[21] The California Department of Business Oversight stated that Sezzle's involvement with the merchants goes "beyond non-lending relationship yet permitted by California courts, and the credit sales purportedly purchased by Sezzle do not justify Sezzle’s extensive involvement".[22][23]

On January 17, 2020 the California Department of Business Oversight officially approved Sezzle's application for a lending license to operate within the state of California.[24][25][26]