FromsweatshirtsonAmazon, to aburrito from Chipotle, to evenguns, BNPL—that is, thepoint-of-sale financing methodthat allows shoppers to carve up a single payment into several smaller ones—has become about as unavoidable at the online checkout today as a pack of two Reese’s peanut butter cups has been at the grocery store register for decades.

And now, it’s entering into the vast and eclectic world of NFTs, too, in part through a new NFT financing and lending startup called Supermojo that just raised $6 million in seed funding from investors including BH Digital, DRW Venture Capital, Intersection Growth Partners, and Neuberger Berman, according to a press release set to be released Thursday that was shared withFortuneexclusively.

Launched by two former executives at Ripple—Amir Sarhangi and Craig DeWitt—Supermojo wants to make buying and holding NFTs easier, more reliable, and more accessible to the crypto experts, the crypto curious, and the crypto novices among us. NFT marketplaces have been opening their doors beyond crypto HODLers for some time, looking to cater to the legions of sports fans, music lovers, and real estate investors whose interests may align well with the technology behind the unique digital goods that are NFTs—even though they may not be the most crypto savvy. In April, OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT market, beganacceptingcredit cards, debit cards, and evenApplePay through a partnership with Moonpay.

But the process of buying an NFT with a credit card has been anything but great for many who have tried to do so, Supermojo CEO Sarhangi says. Credit cards tend to have hefty interest rates associated with them, and there have also been issues with transactions failing, as some credit card companies designate buying an NFT as a “crypto transaction” that they then block, he adds.

“We obviously saw the potential [in NFTs], but it was very difficult for the average users to access and buy an NFT,” Sarhangi, who was vice president of product and delivery at Ripple, tellsFortune. "What we're doing is simply making it very easy for the average user to buy and hold an NFT."

Supermojo plans to partner with marketplaces and storefronts so that investors can elect at checkout to buy the NFT through installment payments just like a shopper could purchase a new microwave on Amazon for four payments of $50 over the course of two months. The company will also offer the ability for owners to take out a loan against their NFTs.

The company does not plan to charge interest or late fees on its customers’ BNPL payments, Sarhangi says. Instead, it’ll take a fee upfront, a part of which may end up being paid for by the end buyer while the other is paid for by the marketplace itself. Until the payments are completed, Supermojo will hold the NFT on the buyer’s behalf, though Sarhangi says the team is working on an option that would allow an owner to sell the NFT and pay back the remainder of their outstanding payments at the same time.

Others within the cryptoverse have been building out BNPL and collateralized lending services for NFTs as well, even as the market hassouredin the 2022 crypto winter. Just a week ago, for instance, Teller, a decentralized finance lender, revealed that it was launching a new participant-driven service dubbed “Ape Now, Pay Later” to give investors a chance to split up their purchases of popular NFTs such as Bored Ape Yacht Clubs,Bloombergreportedlast week. Investors, meanwhile, have been using NFTs ascollateral on loansfor months now. But Sarhangi says few have made ease of use for everyone and anyone a tentpole of their services.

Granted, BNPL is not without its skeptics. In Washington, D.C., regulators have already been examiningsome of the largest BNPL providers' business models. And many consumer advocates are growing concerned about the amount of subprime borrowers using BNPL services and loading up on debt that they cannot afford to actually pay off. (About 43% of BNPL applicants had subprime credit scores, according to a MaystudyfromTransUnion.)

Supermojo, for its part, is not dolling out BNPL services to anyone. Users are not anonymous to Supermojo, as it requires applicants to complete an onboarding process that includes an eligibility check, says DeWitt, the company’s head of product and engineering. Sarhangi adds that the company is specifically focused on users with prime and super prime credit scores—meaning above a 660, per theCFPB. And even within that cohort, Sarhangi sees Supermojo as offering far more than just the marriage of two buzzy financial phenomena from the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, the Supermojo CEO says the introduction of BNPL directly onto NFT marketplaces will be an upgrade over what’s available today, considering the lack of transparency around credit cards and the appetite for it among investors.

“BNPL has become a part of the fabric of the younger generations’ [lives]. It’s something that a lot of marketplaces need to provide as an option because it can be safer for the buying process,” Sarhangi says. But he adds, “It’s got to be done in a responsible way.”

Declan Harty
@declanharty
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