A former official of US-based alternative investment company KKR & Co has launched a credit card-focused fintech startup and also secured its first round of funding from a clutch of reputed angel investors.
Mumbai-based Fatakpay Digital Pvt Ltd, co-founded by former principal at KKR Amit Lodha - primarily offering virtual credit cards, and other financial services - has pocketed an undisclosed amount in funding already after launching in October last year.
The group of angel investors backing the fintech company include names like Ajay Manglunia (managing director at JM Financial), Eshwar Karra (chief executive officer at Kotak Special Situations Fund), Sunu Mathew (promoter at Leap India), Amit Mittal (treasury head, Tata Motors Finance), Amit Saboo (MD, Shapoorji Pallonji Ports) and Shobhit Bahl (director, Barclays India.)
The venture was launched last October by Lodha, who has also worked with HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Group in the past, Ajit Kumar and Abhishek Gandhi (both ex-Rupee Circle) and Amit Goyal (ex-Kotak Investment Bank.)
“We started this venture in October 2021 and in a matter of few months have already made our digital offerings live. We have already onboarded one million customers through tie-ups with 25 corporates. Our target customers include employees of such corporates who earn less than Rs 40,000 per month targeting around a market segment of 25 crore people,” said Lodha, CEO of the startup.
Fatakpay will offer virtual credit cards which can be used through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform and plans to charge a flat monthly fee of around Rs 100-150 per user depending on the credit score, charged only during the usage month. It has also partnered with 150 merchants and brands for users to access healthcare, medical and groceries through the credit availed through the fintech platform.
Lodha said that Fatakpay, offered as an employee wellness program, aspires to be a one-stop solution offering an entire gamut of financial products like credit, savings, micro mutual funds and micro insurance. The company claims to operate with an aim to empower India’s population to achieve their financial aspirations in a more informed manner.
In next six months, we plan to offer micro insurance, which will be on the lines of a group term insurance (around Rs 50,000- Rs 1 lakh of insurance and micro mutual fund of around Rs 100-1000 can be invested, Lodha said.
“With the current traction we are working at a customer addition run rate of approximately 3 lakh per month,” Lodha added.
While it will offer credit from the balance sheet of its existing non-banking financial company (NBFC) held by one of the founders' firm, Fatakpay has separately applied for a license to start an NBFC, as a parent entity of the fintech platform.
Fatakpay plans to raise another round of funding in the next 6-12 months.
Several fintech startups focussed on credit and payment cards have been catching eyeballs among the younger population in the country of late.
In November last year, millennial-focused fintech startup, Slice, operated by GaragePrenuers Internet Pvt. Ltd, entered the prestigious unicorn club after raising $220 million in its Series B round led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners.
In October last year, Cred founder Kunal Shah, Better Capital and GFC (Global Founders Capital), along with existing investors invested $1.3 million in Bengaluru-based credit card service startup, Hyperface.