Buy now, pay later firms are in free fall, but one CEO just secured $50 million in fresh funding. He shares why he doesn't think Klarna is a rival — but Apple may be.

CEO Philip Belamant told Insider how he raised more capital and how Zilch planned to compete.With the rest of the buy now, pay later industry facing market headwinds, one player is bucking the trend of the downturn.The UK fintech Zilch announced a $50 million extension of its Series C funding round Thursday. Following the new round, Zilchs valuation will remain at $2 billion.Zilch CEO Philip Belamant told Insider that the companys direct-to-consumer approach was attractive to investors. Zilch did not identify the investors that participated in the extension, but its Series C was led by Ventura Capital and Gauss Ventures.The company touts its direct-to-consumer model as "BNPL 2.0" and looks to succeed where other BNPL providers have stumbled in recent months.Other players like Klarna and Affirm mainly strike partnerships with merchants, who then offer the service to shoppers at checkout. It says that early growth rates in the US are four times as fast as they were across the pond.Belamant said Zilch planned to use the new capital to continue to build its team, as well as develop new features. He added the company would consider acquisitions if the right opportunity presented itself.The infusion of capital comes at a time when many industry players are struggling to navigate the headwinds of high interest rates and inflation, as well as a sharp decrease in venture-capital funding.The valuation of the Swedish BNPL provider Klarna, which soared during the pandemic as high as $46 billion, could drop to as low as $10 billion because of concerns about the rate of its expansion in the US, The Wall Street Journal reported.Klarna laid off 10% of its staff in May, citing the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, market volatility , and an impending recession as key reasons for the layoffs.Affirms stock price has dipped nearly 80% since the beginning of the year as e-commerce volumes slow and consumers reconsider big-ticket purchases like Peloton exercise bikes and luxury accessories.Why Zilch doesnt think Klarna is a rival but Apple may beDespite the pressures from the macro environment, Belamant said he saw continued opportunity for Zilch to grow as an attractive alternative to credit cards.Each Zilch transaction has its own spending limit, and a consumers financial data and payment history are updated after each Zilch transaction, unlike credit-card limits, which can typically be increased only a few times a year.Belamant said he didnt consider players like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay direct competitors because of Zilchs different approach, but larger players like Apple and JPMorgan have announced BNPL products similar to Zilchs in recent weeks.But Belamant said their entries into the market helped validate Zilchs business model and that he thought theres room for several large players in the market and liked Zilchs odds.