 "BharatPe launches secured loans for merchants, expands credit offerings")
Fintech firm BharatPe, on Tuesday, announced the launch of secured credit products such as two-wheeler loans and loans against mutual funds (LAMF) for its merchants in partnership with lenders such as OTO Capital and Volt Money.
Merchants on the fintech platform can avail of two-wheeler loans up to Rs 2.5 lakh from OTO Capital, with a repayment period ranging between 12 and 48 months.
The partnership with Volt Money will enable BharatPe to offer LAMF of up to Rs 1 crore, the company said.
In 2022, the company entered the gold loans segment for its merchants by partnering with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). The company had said it would offer loans up to Rs 20 lakh against a gold pledge.
“In 2019, we ventured into the facilitation of unsecured loans with the motto of addressing the $0.5 trillion MSME credit gap that has acted as a blocker to the growth of this industry. Over the course of the last few years, we have made great progress and have facilitated unsecured loans of over Rs 15,000 crore to our merchant partners,” said Nalin Negi, chief executive officer (CEO) of BharatPe.
The company has a base of over 13 million merchants.
More From This Section
The launch of secured loans for merchant partners will open a new monetisation channel for the company while opening up avenues for better engagement with merchants, Negi added.
The fintech firm will roll out new products under the secured loans category in the next three months.
The loan disbursal and collections will be handled by the lending partner.
“I am confident that secured loans will make a significant contribution to our overall revenue in the coming months,” he added.
The company’s revenue was pegged at Rs 904 crore in financial year 2023 (FY23), up from Rs 321 crore in FY22 on the back of growth across its business verticals.
The fintech platform, which is engaged in a legal battle with former managing director Ashneer Grover, recorded a loss before tax of Rs 886 crore in FY23.
Similarly, it had posted a loss of Rs 5,594 crore in FY22. The loss in FY22 included an item related to the loss in the change in fair value of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) amounting to Rs 4,782 crore.