GIC-backed Cred rolls out BNPL feature

Cred founder Kunal Shah / Photo credit: Cred

Cred, an India-based fintech unicorn, has officially foray into the country’s lucrative buy now, pay later (BNPL) market.

Called Cred Flash, the BNPL feature is supported by over 500 partner merchants. Users can also make bill payments and recharges as well as get customized spend limits. Dues are repayable within 30 days.

Cred Flash is powered by Parfait Finance and Investments, a non-banking financial company registered with the Reserve Bank of India. Both said they target building a community of creditworthy individuals, merchants, and institutions.

However, the BNPL service can only be used by those who have a credit score of over 750, which is considered “very good,” on Cred’s platform.

The other newly-added payment feature, Cred Tap to Pay, lets members with NFC-enabled Android devices make offline credit card payments through their phones. Users can tap their phones on a merchant’s point-of-sale system without entering a PIN or presenting a physical card. They also get reward points for using it.

India’s BNPL market could hit a gross merchandise value of US$97.7 billion by 2028, up dramatically from US$7.2 billion in 2021.

See also: Tonik CEO on BNPL: ‘I prefer to call it sales finance’

Founded by Kunal Shah, Cred most recently raised funding in June last year, securing US$140 million in a series F round led by Singapore’s GIC.