CASHe to double lending to Rs 1000 cr this fiscal, to widen travel segment

CASHe, the app-only digital lending company is aiming to double its loan book this fiscal, targeting disbursements of Rs 1000 crore with a special thrust on expanding the travel segment.

In last financial year, the company disbursed Rs 508 crore credit. Lately, the company has witnessed its niche customers - the young millennials showing a marked appetite for travel loans.

“In April this year, 14-15 per cent of the people availed loans from us for travel purpose as the holiday season kicked in. Normally, the share of travel to our total loan book is 10 per cent. We have a tie-up with HolidayIQ. We are also talking to major online travel companies to see how we can expand this travel segment”, said Ketan Patel, executive director & chief executive officer, CASHe.

CASHe's forte lies in providing short-term, unsecured personal loans. The market for such loans is estimated at Rs 700-800 crore in disbursements per month. “We are doing Rs 60 crore disbursements each month. EarlySalary does an equivalent amount. We cater only to the young professionals who show the tendency for short-term credit. As a company, we do not lend beyond the tenor of 180 days”, Patel said.

CASHe has refreshingly different criteria for lending. Unlike banks or financial institutions, it does not bank on the traditional CIBIL score. Instead, the company has come up with its own benchmark evaluation- Social Loan Quotient. “We appraise the data available on mobiles and social networking sites. Our lending preferences are guided by such data. Thirty per cent of my customers are new to credit”, Patel added.

Despite realizing the growing traction of travel loans, CASHe is not keen on being pigeonholed into any one segment. The digital lender aims to cover the entire ecosystem of millennials, who are otherwise spurned by banks and financial institutions.

Beyond pure play credit, insurance is one domain where CASHe is keen to foray. "Also, we would like to fund tax planning products," Patel said.

CASHe is completely automated and brooks no personal intervention or physical documentation. The platform takes an average of eight minutes in disbursing a loan, subject to complete and proper submission of dossier. Its target customer base is the mass of young professionals in the age bracket of 23-35 years. Beginning with Rs 10,000, CASHe advances loans up to Rs 2 lakh with a repayable tenor of 30-180 days. It charges an interest of 2.75 per cent per month on credit disbursed for three months. In case of credit extended for six months, the interest rate is pegged at 2.5 per cent every month.