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Fave strengthens buy now pay later offering with  Audra Pakalnyte at helm

Fave strengthens buy now pay later offering with Audra Pakalnyte at helm

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Fave has appointed head of strategic initiatives, Audra Pakalnyte (pictured), as head of FavePay Later. This is a newly created regional role and she will report to founder and CEO Joel Neoh. FavePay Later is Fave's buy now pay later service which was launched in Singapore and Malaysia in July. As the company gears up for 2022, it has since created a dedicated buy now pay later division to oversee all aspects of the business growth. Fave is also hiring multiple roles under credit and risk, collections, engineering, product management and business development roles for its FavePay Later division.

Pakalnyte was head of strategic initiatives for close to three years and prior to that, led the people and product team at Fave. She joined the company in 2015 as Fave's very first employee and has worked on various domains from building up the team, managing organisational transition post acquiring Groupon, driving strategic projects and new product launches.

"The new generation of consumers are smart shoppers and they rely on technology much more than before. They also have high standards and expectations around their shopping experience. They want the experience to be not only smooth, but rewarding too," she said.

Pakalnyte said the company believes in creating special experiences for customers while they shop. "I'm excited to see how FavePay Later becomes an essential choice for customers to make smarter shopping decisions," she added.

When asked about Fave's marketing plans for 2022, Pakalnyte said it wants to double down on FavePay Later for merchants and consumers, as well as cement its leadership position in the loyalty and cashback space for merchants.

The launch of FavePay Later came at a time of pent-up demand among consumers after prolonged periods of lockdowns and social restrictions, Fave said previously. It added that cash-strapped consumers were also seeking easier access to credit and merchants who were on the hunt for innovative ways to revive ailing sales. Neoh explained then that its customers care about flexibility, convenience and rewards and FavePay Later is built with these customer needs in mind. Fave was acquired by Indian fintech tech unicorn, Pine Labs, for US$45 million in April to accelerate joint global expansion. 

Before Fave, Audra spent two years as a consultant at recruitment services provider TalentSquare and also worked as programme director for StartupMalaysia and HR manager for Symphony HRS. She also founded PlateCulture in 2013, a marketplace that invites consumers to dine in real homes, eat authentic food and meet interesting people, her LinkedIn said.

The buy now pay later scene has been heating up, with players such as Atome and myIOU eyeing a piece of the consumer pie. In September, Atome named former entrepreneur Poompong Tancharoenphol to lead its operations in Thailand, while myIOU sought to boost its mindshare by appointing singer-songwriter Yuna as its brand ambassador.

Meanwhile, ShopBack also wanted a piece of the pie by acquiring buy now pay later brand hoolah earlier this month as part of its efforts to drive US$3.5 billion in sales this year. The company said then that the acquisition will transform the shopping experience for shoppers, and provide a one-stop solution for demand generation and user engagement for merchants across Asia Pacific.

buy now pay later is not just a fad. In fact, it is predicted to grow rapidly in Southeast Asia. According to Juniper Research, buy now pay later services will account for over 24% of international eCommerce transactions for physical goods by value by 2026, from just 9% in 2021.

The research added that the global number of buy now pay later users will exceed 1.5 billion transactions in 2026, from 340 million in 2021. The market is set to grow from US$7.3 billion in 2019 to US$33.6 billion in 2027 at a compound annual growth rate of 21.2%, with the Asia Pacific leading the growth, according to key estimates from Coherent Market Insights.

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Related articles:
UOB partners Fave for new loyalty and rewards initiative
Fave snapped up by merchant commerce firm Pine Labs for US$45m
Fave MY partners local celebs to rally citizens in supporting their beloved merchants

 

 

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