Beez launches in the UK as it begins its journey to become the next Romanian unicorn

October 14, 2019

Romanian alternative financing startup Beez has launched its services in the UK, ahead of the Christmas shopping rush.

The application is designed for online shoppers with credit cars and rewards them with cashback. Its services have been established as an alternative to the “buy now, pay later” model, which has no interest, late fees of commission.

Beez was founded in 2018 by Lucian Cramba and Tamas Vasile after they saw a stat which stated 70% of credit card owners end up paying interest, often at “eyewatering” levels.

Currently, the startup has 110,000 users and more than €2.5m in transactions have been completed through the platform to date. It has formed partnerships with more than 2,000 shops in the UK.

The company is currently in the process of raising a funding round, with the goal of becoming a Romanian unicorn, it claims.

Beez chose the UK as a place to launch its services for several reasons. These include its mature ecosystem for e-commerce and credit cards, the growth of online spending, the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, popularity of cashless payment methods, and the level of credit card usage in online payments.

To use the platform, a consumer searches for a store or product on the Beez app and they will then be redirected to the retailer’s website where they complete the transaction. After this, they will be notified of the cashback sum which is put into its Beez account.

There is also a Beez Pay feature, which lets users buy products and pay within 60 days.

Beez co-founder Vasile Tamas said, “In general, though, APR rates are still very high (compared to the UK’s very low interest rate) and although consumers seem to be getting smarter about how they spend on credit cards, using them for the rewards and protections and repaying balances before incurring interest, the default rate on UK credit card debt (in April 2019) was at its highest for two years. In our model, we provide access to credit and rewards to the credit card user.

“This eliminates the cost of financing and means that the consumer receives 5–10% from the retailer as a commission for a purchase that will add up to 30–60% yearly on loans capital.”