India’s CRED Announces $215 Million Fundraise At $2.2 Billion Valuation

CRED, an Indian FinTech that says its payment platform helps members pay credit card bills on time through incentive programs and high-tech tools, on Tuesday (April 6) announced a new fundraising round that puts its valuation at $2.2 billion, according to published reports.

The newly announced $215 million Series D round was led by Falcon Edge Capital LP, and included existing investors Coatue Management LLP, DST Global, Tiger Global and Greenoaks Capital, according to Bloomberg News, which attributed the information to a statement from CRED.

“With the credit card category in India expanding rapidly, we have a massive opportunity to shape responsible behavior,” noted Founder Kunal Shah.

CRED says on its website that it has 5.9 million users, all of whom were able to join only if their Experian credit scores were 750 or higher. The company says it gives users who pay bills on time incentives that include products from a list of luxury goods retailers.

To become a CRED member, an individual must set up an account with a mobile phone number issued in India. The company  works with credit card companies that include American Express, Standard Chartered, Citibank, HSBC, HDFC, ICICI, SBI, AXIS, Kotak, RBL and PNB, which “support Visa, Mastercard, American Express and RuPay cards.”

In its marketing materials, CRED says it was founded to reward those who have earned trust. “…we thought of creating a system that rewards its members for doing good and being trustworthy,” CRED’s website states. “This way, trust as a virtue becomes something to aspire to, just the way it should be. Then we went one step ahead: We built it.” CRED also emphasized the ease with which its app, which is available for iOS and Android, can be used to stay current with multiple credit card accounts.

PYMNTS’ research last summer, reflected in a report called “Building a Better App,” indicated that ease of app use is so important to users of debit and credit cards that a significant percentage would change financial institutions to get better apps. “Card apps are not viewed as mere side benefits for significant shares of consumers: More than a quarter of them overall would be willing to switch financial institutions to access better card apps,” a summary of the research stated. It added that “…approximately 40 percent of consumers would be very interested in downloading highly functional mobile card apps that can be used to manage multiple cards, track spending and issue transaction alerts, among many other features.”