Amazon-backed BankBazaar gets new investor in extended Series D round

By Joseph Rai

  • 02 Jun 2020
Credit: 123RF.com

A & A Dukaan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd, which operates online financial services marketplace BankBazaar, has raised Rs 45 crore (around $6 million) from new and existing investors.

WSV, a joint venture fund of Walden International and Korean company SKTA, came in as a new investor as part of its extended Series D funding round, BankBazaar said in a statement.

Existing investors Amazon, Sequoia India, UK-based credit rating bureau Experian and Eight Roads also pooled in the capital, it added.

The company had last raised its Series D funding round in October 2017 led by Experian. With the latest funding round, the company has raised a total of $116 million.

Adhil Shetty, CEO at BankBazaar, said that this round of funding will help the company accelerate its plans to implement contactless access to credit in a post Covid-19 world.

Chennai-based BankBazaar was established in 2008 by brothers Adhil and Arjun Shetty along with Rati Rajkumar. The company says it provides instant customized offers on loans and credit cards.

The company said it witnessed a 53% increase in monthly revenue and a 15% reduction in costs despite tough market conditions between October last year and February this year. Its registered customer base has risen to over 40 million.

“BankBazaar has always been focused on achieving EBITDA profitability and going forward, profitability continues to be our top priority,” said Adhil Shetty.

Some online financial services firms and fintech startups have attracted venture capital funding in the past months despite the lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, Ola Financial Services Pvt. Ltd, the financial services arm of taxi aggregator Ola, raised Rs 205 crore in its first institutional round of funding.

In April, Navi Technologies Pvt. Ltd, the financial services company set up by Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal, raised funding from mid-market private equity firm Gaja Capital and some individual investors.

SME-focussed fintech startup Khatabook raised a big Series B funding round while the lending platform for SMEs Lendingkart also collected a significant amount in its Series D funding round last month.

Among the other fintech and insurtech startups that raised seed and early-stage funding during the lockdown include Satyen Kothari-led fintech firm Cube Wealth, LoanAdda, Mintoak, NIRA, and GramCover.