PayJoy
PayJoy helps underbanked customers afford smartphones through pay-as-you-go financing.
PayJoy provides buy-now-pay-later smartphone financing for underbanked populations in emerging markets, with loans typically spanning 3-12 months at no interest and no hidden fees. The company uses the smartphone itself as collateral and employs machine learning to assess creditworthiness, achieving 20% lower default rates than traditional lenders. PayJoy has served over 15 million customers across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and recently expanded into credit products like the PayJoy Card to help customers build traditional credit scores.
Problem solved
Approximately 3 billion adults globally cannot afford smartphones or access traditional credit due to lack of credit history, collateral, or banking infrastructure.
Target customer
Underbanked and unbanked adults in emerging markets (Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia) without access to traditional credit, typically earning modest incomes and lacking credit history.
Founders
D
Doug Ricket
Founder & CEO
MIT graduate (bachelor's and master's in computer engineering) with MBA from Stanford; previously worked at Google on digital mapping and at D.Light Design in pay-as-you-go solar; inspired by Peace Corps service in West Africa.
G
Gib Lopez
Co-Founder & COO
Strategy consultant turned global development expert; worked with TechnoServe, Camber Collective, and Dalberg Global Development Advisors on initiatives involving the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
M
Mark Heynen
Co-Founder
Funding history
Series A
$18M
July 2016
Led by Core Innovation Capital
· Unknown
Series B
$20M
May 2019
Led by Greylock
· Unknown
Series C
$150M
September 2023
Led by Warburg Pincus
· Invus, Citi Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Greylock
Debt Facility
$210M
September 2023
Led by Unknown
· Unknown
Debt Facility
$140M
December 2025
Led by Neuberger Berman
· Unknown
Total raised:
$346.7M
Industries
Pricing
Interest-free loans with no late or hidden fees. Company marks up smartphone prices by a 'multiple' but discloses full price upfront. Specific percentage markups not publicly disclosed.
Notable customers
Lerato Motloung (PayJoy's 10 millionth customer, South Africa), partnerships with Filipino retailers including Comworks, MX MemoXpress, Jr MX MemoXpress
Integrations
PT Bank Sahabat Sampoerna (Indonesia), Comworks, MX MemoXpress, Jr MX MemoXpress (Philippines)
Tech stack
OWL Carousel (JavaScript libraries)
Selectize (JavaScript libraries)
Lodash (JavaScript libraries)
jQuery (JavaScript libraries)
Dropzone (JavaScript liberaries)
core-js (JavaScript libraries)
Google Maps (Maps)
Zendesk (Documentation)
RSS
Open Graph
WordPress (Blogs)
Crazy Egg (Analytics)
Google Analytics (Analytics)
Facebook Pixel (Analytics)
Appsflyer (Analytics)
Google Font API (Font scripts)
Nginx (Reverse proxies)
PHP (Programming languages)
Ubuntu (Operating systems)
Google Workspace (Email)
Cloudflare (CDN)
cdnjs (CDN)
MailChimp (Marketing automation)
MySQL (Databases)
Twitter Ads (Advertising)
MGID (Advertising)
Criteo (Advertising)
Taboola (Advertising)
Google Tag Manager (Tag managers)
Yoast SEO (SEO)
Amazon Web Services (PaaS)
WP Engine (PaaS)
Amazon ALB (Load balancers)
Sectigo (SSL/TLS certificate authorities)
Akismet (WordPress plugins)
TablePress (WordPress plugins)
WPML (WordPress plugins)
Website
Competitors
Klarna
Broader BNPL platform targeting developed markets with general consumer goods, not specialized in emerging markets smartphone financing.
Affirm
General BNPL provider focused on developed market e-commerce and consumer goods, lacking device-as-collateral model and emerging market focus.
Katapult
BNPL phone financing provider but lacks PayJoy's emerging market specialization and advanced ML underwriting capabilities.
Square
Point-of-sale and payments platform rather than specialized smartphone financing for underbanked populations.
Tabby
Regional BNPL player in Middle East and emerging markets but broader product coverage compared to PayJoy's smartphone focus.
Addi
Latin America-focused BNPL provider with broader product categories, not specialized in device-collateral smartphone financing.
Why this matters: PayJoy has achieved remarkable scale—15 million customers and $650M in projected 2025 revenue—by solving a massive global problem: financing smartphones for the 3 billion unbanked adults in emerging markets. The company's innovation in using device collateral combined with ML-driven underwriting demonstrates that emerging market credit can be both financially profitable and socially impactful.
Best for: Underbanked individuals in emerging markets who need affordable smartphones and are willing to build credit history through regular weekly payments.
Use cases
First-time smartphone buyer in Africa
A supermarket worker in South Africa like Lerato Motloung cannot afford a smartphone upfront but needs one for work and communication. PayJoy allows her to purchase a phone with a manageable weekly payment plan, with the device locked if payments are missed but unlockable with a single payment, and the ability to walk away debt-free by returning the phone.
Building credit in emerging markets
A customer in Mexico with no credit history successfully repays a 12-month smartphone loan, achieving a credit score of 615—enough to qualify for the PayJoy Card, a revolving credit line that opens access to traditional financial products previously unavailable.
Retail partnership for financial inclusion
Filipino retailers like Comworks and MX MemoXpress partner with PayJoy to offer smartphone financing at point-of-sale, enabling their customers to access devices and build credit while driving foot traffic and repeat business to the stores.
Alternatives
Klarna
Choose Klarna for broader BNPL coverage across general consumer goods in developed markets; PayJoy for emerging market smartphone specialization.
Affirm
Choose Affirm for US and developed market e-commerce BNPL; PayJoy for emerging market smartphone financing with device collateral and credit building.
Square
Choose Square for general point-of-sale and payment processing; PayJoy for specialized underbanked smartphone financing and credit building in emerging markets.
FAQ
What does PayJoy do? +
PayJoy provides buy-now-pay-later smartphone financing for underbanked customers in emerging markets. Customers purchase phones through local retailers, select a payment plan of 3-12 months, and pay weekly with no interest or hidden fees. The smartphone serves as collateral, and successful repayment helps customers build credit scores.
How much does PayJoy cost? +
PayJoy charges interest-free loans with no hidden or late fees. The company marks up the price of smartphones by a multiple, but the full price is disclosed upfront before customers sign a contract. Specific percentage markups are not publicly disclosed.
What are alternatives to PayJoy? +
Klarna and Affirm offer broader BNPL platforms but focus on developed markets and general consumer goods. Square provides point-of-sale payments but lacks smartphone specialization. Katapult, Tabby, and Addi offer regional BNPL solutions but lack PayJoy's emerging market focus and device-collateral model.
Who uses PayJoy? +
PayJoy serves underbanked and unbanked adults in emerging markets across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia—particularly individuals without credit history, traditional banking access, or collateral. The company has served over 15 million customers to date.
How does PayJoy compare to Klarna? +
PayJoy specializes exclusively in smartphone financing for emerging markets with device-as-collateral security and credit building, while Klarna is a general BNPL platform covering diverse consumer goods primarily in developed markets. PayJoy uses advanced ML underwriting to reduce defaults by 20% compared to traditional lenders, whereas Klarna focuses on broad market coverage.
Tags
emerging markets
BNPL
smartphone financing
underbanked
credit building
device collateral
financial inclusion