Flipkart Ventures Into Personal Loan Category To Boost Revenue

SUMMARY

Flipkart, which already has BNPL and co-branded credit card offerings, has partnered with Axis Bank for personal loans

Flipkart will provide personal loans of up to INR 5 Lakh, with flexible repayment cycles ranging from 6 to 36 months

The latest development comes at a time when more and more fintech startups are also looking at the digital lending space to spruce up their revenues

In a bid to further boost its revenue, ecommerce giant Flipkart has ventured into the personal loan category in a partnership with Axis Bank.

The company will provide personal loans of up to INR 5 Lakh, with flexible repayment cycles ranging from 6 to 36 months, Flipkart said in a statement.

The approval process for loans will take 30 seconds. To initiate the loan application, consumers will have to provide basic details such as PAN (permanent account number), date of birth, and work details, the statement added.

“Through strategic collaborations with leading banking institutions, we have successfully empowered our customers with a wide array of affordable payment options, including buy now pay later (BNPL), equated monthly installments (EMI), and co-branded credit cards. We are delighted to now introduce a personal loan service in partnership with Axis Bank,” Dheeraj Aneja, senior vice president of fintech and payments group at Flipkart, said.

“Our focus is to enable credit and enhance purchasing power by granting access to liquidity precisely when needed. These financial solutions cater to the evolving demands of consumers, offering greater flexibility and convenience throughout their purchasing journeys,” Anej added.

The ecommerce giant has been broadening its financing options to make purchases more convenient for consumers.

The launch of personal loan service by Flipkart comes before its sister company, PhonePe, can do so. Following PhonePe’s separation from Flipkart, both the companies have been eyeing each other’s turf. While PhonePe’s lending ambitions took a temporary hit after it decided to not go ahead with acquisition of ZestMoney, it has already entered the merchant lending space.

PhonePe has also entered the ecommerce space with the launch of its ONDC-native app Pincode.

The latest development comes at a time when more and more fintech startups are also looking at the digital lending space to spruce up their revenue.

It must be noted that Flipkart’s marketplace arm Flipkart Internet’s standalone net loss surged 1.5X to INR 4,361 Cr in the financial year ending March 31, 2022 from INR 2,881.3 Cr in financial year 2020-21 (FY21). The Bengaluru-based company’s total income rose 31% to INR 10,659 Cr in FY22 from INR 8,115 Cr in FY21.

Earlier today, it was also reported that the ecommerce giant has started a $700 Mn employee stock option plan (ESOP) buyback as part of its separation from PhonePe.