Fintech Startup Kissht Raises $80 Mn In A Bid To Enter BNPL Cards Segment

Mumbai-based fintech startup Kissht has raised $80 Mn in funding led by Vertex Growth and Brunei Investment Agency. The round also saw the participation of Vertex Ventures SEA India and Endiya Partners.

The startup has so far raised almost $114.75 Mn, reportedly valuing the startup at $500 Mn. The current funds will be used to propel the startup’s journey within the challenger card segment with its product named Ring. According to the company, Kissht users can use Ring to avail a line of credit for up to INR 30K, pay for ecommerce transactions, pay to merchants, pay to self and pay to friends.

Kissht plans to issue Ring in association with RBL and SBM Bank to customers linked with a credit line for the millennials and Gen-Z, where credit card penetration is <2%.

Founded in 2015 by former McKinsey consultants Krishnan Vishwanathan and Ranvir Singh, Kissht is a lending tech startup that offers small-ticket loans to users to finance their personal shopping and avail personal loans.

According to the startup’s website, it has 3.5 Mn customers and 500+ online and 3000+ offline partners who provide a line of credit to their shoppers. Kissht is a profitable startup and has an active loan book of INR 900 Cr.

According to the startup, it had projected its revenue at INR 500 Cr in FY22 with a profit of INR 50 Cr.

In January 2022, Kissht had announced plans to expand its business to 10 Mn borrowers and to take its total credit volume to INR 10,000 Cr in FY23 (3x higher than FY22).

Making A Mark In The BNPL Startup Economy

In India, it is tough to get a formal credit card, without having taken a loan previously. To solve this chicken and egg problem, the challenger credit card economy or more popularly known as the BNPL card was introduced.

With these cards, customers can finance their small-ticket shopping and build their credit scores. The BNPL space is estimated to be a $40 Bn market opportunity by 2025.

Currently, Kissht competes with the likes of Lendingkart, Capital Float, FlexiLoans, and KredX. With the current round and plans to enter the BNPL card segment, it aims to take on startups such as slice, OneCard and UNI, among others.

slice recently turned unicorn and according to Inc42 sources, is to raise more funds at a valuation of $1.8 Bn. BNPL startup zenda, too, raised $9.4 Mn to expand its market in India, touting to make a dent in the $1.3 Tn fintech economy.