Fintech FPL Technologies has raised$ 75 million as part of its Series C backing led by being investor QED Investors along with Janchor Mates, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Mates and Hummingbird Gambles.
With this round, the company’s valuation now stands at$ 750 million, in touching distance of the$ 1 billion number which will jump the incipiency into the coveted unicorn club. The company didn’t expose its valuation during its last backing round in January 2021.
FPL Technologies is a digital lending fintech and has two products – OneCard and OneScore. OneCard is a Visa credit card offered in cooperation with IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank, SBM Bank, among others.
OneScore was the incipiency’s first product which is a digital credit score platform offering free credit score checks and personalised perceptivity with which guests can cover and manage their credit health. The incipiency said that there are one crore OneScore druggies and2.5 lakh OneCard credit cards have been issued.
In an interview with Moneycontrol, FPL Technologiesco-founder and CEO Anurag Sinha said that the incipiency has not put a timeline on achieving the$ 1 billion valuation, but continues to be in addresses with investors.
“ The request is growing really presto and we will keep looking for the right investors who understand this space well. The request occasion in the credit space is veritably large which is driving investments,” Sinha said.
The incipiency will use the current backing to grow its stoner base, platoon and expand into further locales in the country. Still, Sinha didn’t give guidance on the incipiency’s stoner base growth targets.
Innovated in 2019 by Sinha, Rupesh Kumar, and Vibhav Hathi, who come from banking backgrounds, the company competes with the likes of Slice, Uni, Indiabulls Dhani and now indeed PayU’s LazyPay which give credit- related card products to guests.
These immolations are an extension of the fast- growing digital Buy Now Pay Latterly (BNPL) and EMI space which aims to feed to guests generally not eligible for credit cards. Still, for FPL Technologies the focus isn’t new-to- credit guests like the other players.
While the challengers offer cards with an option to pay latterly or in corridor, OneCard is a straightforward credit card and focuses on guests with being credit history. Seventy percent of FPL Technologies’ guests are in the age group of 23-30 times.
“ For our product the credit threat sits with the bank, unlike other players who take on the credit threat themselves. The profit from the card goes to the bank directly and we’ve a profit-sharing agreement with them,” Sinha explained.
At a time when credit startups players are fastening on bringing the limelight down from traditional credit cards, and making digital lending and BNPL the new buzzword, will dealing a credit card be a challenge?
.“ Only 34 million Indians have credit cards. So, the request occasion for credit cards is huge too. We believe that there are around 90 million people eligible for a credit card. There’s a large request for all players,” according to Sinha.
India has a veritably low credit card penetration of only three percent. While BNPL players are using the hesitancy and eligibility criterion related to credit cards as a chance to access into the request, players like FPL Technologies still see a case for credit cards with the abysmally low penetration.
In its last Series B backing round, the company had raised$ 35 million. The rearmost round of investment brings FPL Technologies’ total backing since launch to roughly$ 125 million.
