Point Of Sale Lending Platform ShopSe Raises $5.5 Mn For Expansion

Update: The update rectifies the name of  a company to Slice

Mumbai-based fintech startup ShopSe has announced a $5.5 Mn funding round led by Chiratae Ventures and BEENEXT. The round also saw participation from Pentathlon Ventures, venture capital firm Opus and existing investor Abhishant Pant of Yatra Angel Network.

Founded by former PayU employees Pallav Jain, Abhishek Nimonkar & Yagnesh Desai, ShopSe offers equated monthly instalments or EMI solutions at retail points of sale (PoS) adding to the slew of buy now pay later (BNPL) models in the Indian market. ShopSe said it would leverage the fundraise to strengthen its team, fuel expansion and product development.

The company creates a digital platform between retailers and lenders and offers instant digital EMI without any documentation. It claims that its platform is currently being used at more than 10K retail points across the country, and aims to grow this to 200K retail points over the next 12 months.

Cofounder and CEO Pallav Jain said, “Our team is passionate about solving for affordability with convenience and providing a much better experience through ShopSe Instant EMI. We are delighted that leading banks and NBFCs of India also agree with our view and have chosen to partner with us.”

The consumer lending segment has seen a surge of fintech startups that have been bridging the gaps within the digital payments landscape by enabling purchases through equated monthly instalment (EMI) options at POS, rather than offering direct loans.

Fintech firms such as ZestMoney, Gurugram-based merchant fintech startup Pine Labs, PayU’s LazyPay, ICICI Bank’s Pay Later, Simpl, Slice, KrazyBee, among others are all competing in the domain.

With over 1,263 digital lending startups across the country, over 147 (12% of the total 1,263) are backed by venture capital funding. The Indian market has witnessed an exponential surge in demand for short-term loans related to purchases and spending. 

In addition to traditional credit cards, the demand for sachet credit products such as BNPL and ‘advance salary’ or payday loans has also seen a rise. The growth for such new-age digital lending products can be credited to more individuals in India venturing into formal employment and their growing preference towards credit-based purchases.

Update on April 7, 1:09 pm

Update: The update rectifies the name of  a company to Slice