Kunal Shah-Led CRED’s Revenue Jumps 3.5X To INR 1,484 Cr In FY23

Kunal Shah-led fintech unicorn CRED’s total revenue jumped over 3.5X in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The Bengaluru-based fintech startup reported a total revenue of INR 1,484 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), a 251.6% increase from INR 422 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Revenue from operations surged 256% to INR 1,400.6 Cr in FY23 from INR 393.5 Cr in FY22. 

CRED’s loss too grew 5% to INR 1,347.4 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,279.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

On the expenses front, the startup saw a 1.6X jump in total expenditure to INR 2,831.9 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,702.1 Cr in the previous year. 

Employee benefit expenses continued to account for the biggest chunk of expenditure. The startup spent INR 788.9 Cr on employee benefits in FY23, a 2.5X jump from INR 307.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Employee benefit expenses comprise employee salaries, PF contributions, gratuity, among others. The startup’s ESOP cost grew to INR 300 Cr during the year under review. 

Marketing expenses made up the second biggest expenditure. However, the startup’s marketing costs declined 26% to INR 713.4 Cr from INR 975.7 Cr in FY22. 

It spent INR 704.6 Cr for payment processing, a 354% jump from INR 155.1 Cr it spent in the previous fiscal year. 

On a unit economics level, CRED spent INR 2 to earn every single rupee from operations.

Founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah, CRED offers premium credit card users rewards and benefits for paying their bills. The fintech giant has also forayed into the ancillary services business built around its primary ecosystem of credit card-centric services. 

The startup claimed that one-third of the credit card bill payments by value were done on its platform during the year under review and the total payment value rose to INR 4.4 Lakh Cr from INR 2.5 Lakh Cr in the previous fiscal year. CRED also said it is now the fourth largest UPI app in terms of value.

Last week, the startup launched a vehicle management platform – CRED garage. Users can register their vehicles with the CRED garage by adding the vehicle’s number. It offers a single dashboard which includes priority access to concierge service, reminders, document management and insights on spending.

CRED, last valued at $6.4 Bn, has raised over $800 Mn in funding since its inception and counts Tiger Global, Peak XV Partners, Dragoneer Investments among its backers. 

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