Fintech startups crowd NBFC queue to enter credit lane

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

OneCard and Bengaluru’s WintWealth have applied for licences to operate as non-banking finance companies, people in the know said. These startups intend to join fintech majors such as Cred, Groww and Jupiter that have recently bagged the lending licences.

Stock investing platform Upstox is also looking to enter the credit domain, initially in partnerships with other NBFCs and banks but eventually on its own.Also read | Stock broking startups Groww, Upstox eye lending, payments to expand revenue base Credit card unicorn OneCard and WintWealth, which helps retail investors buy corporate bonds, did not respond to emails seeking comment.Regulatory domain After the Reserve Bank of India came out with digital lending licences, large fintechs started taking steps towards getting more regulated and increasing their stake in the game. “With regulations, fintechs will have to be cautious about their approach towards experimentation … fintechs are adopting both approaches of having a credit card strategy as well as doling out personal loans on their platform,” said a fintech founder, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The idea is to provide a wide stack of lending solutions to retain customers on their platform, he added. Also with an NBFC licence, fintechs can enter into co-lending partnerships with large banks.

For OneCard, getting an NBFC licence would help it build exposure in personal loans and offer other products. Currently, OneCard offers premium credit cards on behalf of mid-sized lenders like Federal Bank, South Indian Bank and CSB Bank.

It also works with BoB Cards, the card division of state-run Bank of Baroda. According to one of the people cited earlier, OneCard has so far issued around 1.5 million cards on