Indian Fintech Cred Raises $80 Million Funding Led By GIC At $6.4 Billion Valuation

CRED is raising $140 million in a new financing round, it’s fourth in the past 18 months, as the Indian fintech startup expands its product offerings and competes for the business of millions of people with excellent credit.

The Bengaluru-based company’s Series F financing round, which also includes secondary deals, is being spearheaded by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. As a result, CRED’s worth increased to $6.4 billion from $4 billion in October and $2.2 billion in April of last year. Last year, CRED started having early discussions with a group of investors about this finance.

As CRED completes the acquisition of Small case, a company founded by Amazon, cash is being made available. According to reports earlier this year, CRED initially considered investing in the Small cases as opposed to purchasing them. The Arrangement with Small Case has not been discussed by a CRED spokesman.

The business, founded by a veteran of the fintech sector Kunal Shah, encourages and helps customers by offering rewards like cash back to help them pay their credit card bills on time in order to raise their credit score. The proposals from CRED have significantly increased during the last 1.5 years.

The company currently gives its customers access to a variety of premium direct-to-consumer products and special rates at upscale hotels. Additionally, last year saw the launch of the peer-to-peer Mint lending platform, which enables users to lend money to other users at interest rates that “beat inflation.”

The money arrives as the startup ecosystem in India, like those elsewhere in the world, adjusts to a steep drop in startup costs and an increase in the frequency of fundraising rounds. Venture capital firms have stopped writing fresh checks as a result of their rising trepidation regarding the deteriorating conditions of the global economy.

Cred is also a compulsive person. In order to join the wallet payments market, HipBar Pvt Ltd, a startup in the delivery of alcoholic beverages, was bought by Mint in October 2021. Cred later in December purchased the business cost management system Happay. The company stated in a statement made public in March of this year that Cred now has 7.5 million total users. More than 25% of credit card bill payments are also made possible by it.

According to a formal document provided by Cred in March, the company claimed a 45% increase in its net loss for FY21 as a result of soaring marketing expenses throughout the year. Cred’s loss increased from Rs 360 crore the previous year to Rs 524 crore for FY21. Its FY22 couldn’t be determined in any way.

The corporation spent 222 crores on marketing in FY21 as opposed to 57 crores the year before. But compared to the prior year, the company’s operating revenue increased from Rs 52 lakh to Rs 88 crore, increasing its total income for FY21 from Rs 18.16 crore to Rs 95.53 crore.

On Cred And Its Concept

India’s Bangalore is home to the financial company CRED. It is a rewards-based credit card payment software that Kunal Shah founded in 2018.

Cred also provides consumers with access to short-term credit lines and the ability to pay their rent for their properties. Cred has drawn criticism for being pricey and having a sketchy revenue strategy.

Over 5.9 million customers had been added to the company’s database, and it handled 20% of all credit card bill payments in India. But on August 20, 2021, Cred also debuted Cred Mint, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending function designed to generate income from its 7.5 million customers.

Cred was founded by Kunal Shah and is categorized as a TrustTech firm as opposed to a FinTech. According to Kunal Shah, resolving trust concerns in Indian society is essential for achieving economic growth.