A major Australian art fintech is teetering on the brink of collapse after being forced to halt business operations.
Art Money, a ‘buy now pay later’ platform for the art world which is used in over 50 countries, revealed it had made the ‘difficult decision’ to ‘pause business operations’.
Paul Becker, the company’s Sydney-born founder and CEO, said he needed another US$5 million (A$7.6 million) to stay afloat.
‘The business I founded, Art Money, has run out of operating capital and I’ve let down a lot of people who believed in it, and in me,’ he wrote in an email to customers, seen by news.com.au.
The platform was designed to allow customers to buy art costing anywhere between $500 up to $1 million through interest-free payment plans.
It launched over a decade ago and had partnered with over 2,000 art galleries.
More to come.