Cred (company)

CRED is an Indian fintech company that makes something not everybody gets it. It is based in Bangalore.[2][3][4] Founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah,[5][6] it is a reward-based credit card payments app.[7] Cred also lets users make house rent payments[8] and provides short-term credit lines.[9] Cred has received criticism for being overvalued and lacking a sound monetization strategy.[10][11]

For other uses, see Cred (disambiguation).

CRED
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial Services

Credit cards FinTech

Payments
Founded2023
FounderKunal Shah
HeadquartersBangalore, Karnataka, Ghatkopar, Mumbai,
Bangalore
,
India
RevenueIncrease ₹393 crore (US$49 million) (2022)[1]
Negative increase ₹−1,279 crore (US$−160 million) (2022)[1]
Number of employees
800
Websitecred.club

History

Cred was founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah; by 2021, the company had onboarded over 5.9 million users and processed about 20% of all credit card bill payments in India.[12] As of April 2021, Cred offered six different products - Cred RentPay, Cred Cash, Cred Pay, Cred Store, and Cred Travel Store, etc. However, on 20 August 2021, Cred also launched a Peer to Peer(P2P) lending feature known as Cred Mint that aims to monetise through its 7.5 million users.[13]

Kunal Shah describes Cred as being a TrustTech company rather than a FinTech, and that his motivation to start Cred comes from solving trust issues in the Indian society, which he believes is key to economic prosperity[14]

Funding and financial results

Funding

Cred raised funding from DST Global,[15] Sequoia Capital (India),[16][17] and Tiger Global,[18] among other investors, through the four rounds of private funding so far.[19] Cred posted losses of ₹360.31 crore in the 2020 fiscal year (FY20),[20] caused primarily due to high expenditure on marketing and advertising.[21]

In October 2021, Cred started to seek new investors, reporting a $5.5 billion valuation, up from $2.2 billion recorded in April 2021.[22][23]

Kunal Shah is also an investor in an AI led adtech influencer marketing platform Kofluence. The company had raised a pre-series funding of $4 Million as of 8 February 2022.[24]

In June 2022, CRED, raised $80 million in Series F funding round led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC. The Series F funding round will value the company at around $6.4 billion.[25]

Investor Transaction Name Fund Raised[26] Valuation
Sequoia Capital India Seed $30M Not Revealed
Sequoia Capital, RTP Ventures, and 25 others Series A $636K
Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, and seven others Series B $120M Increase $450 Million
DST Global, Tiger Global Management, and seven others Series C $81M Increase $806 Million
Coatue, Insight Partners, and nine others Series D $215M Increase $2.2 Billion
Tiger Global Management, Marshall Wace, and eight others Series E $251M Increase $4.01 Billion
GIC Singapore, Tiger Global Management, and three others Series F $80M Increase $6.4 Billion

Marketing

Cred became the official sponsor for the Indian Premier League for four years from 2020 to 2023.[27] In 2021, Cred's advertising content and videos, made in-house featuring Indian celebrities,[28][29][30] generated significant discourse in news and social media[31][32][33][34] due to its peculiarity, which was both criticized[35] and praised.[36]

References
  1. "CRED revenue jumps over 4X while losses widen to Rs 1,279 Cr in FY22". Entrackr. 12 October 2022.
  2. "Kunal Shah's CRED raises $215 million to be India's latest unicorn with a valuation of $2.2 billion". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  3. "Kunal Shah's Cred turns unicorn in less than three years; valuation slingshots nearly 3X to $2.2 billion". The Financial Express. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  4. "Cred valued at $2.2 billion with new round, Kunal Shah says 'conscious call' to not monetise in first 2 years". cnbctv18.com. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  5. Patwa, Prasannata (26 November 2018). "Cred to launch product for credit card users". mint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  6. Gooptu, Biswarup; Sharma, Samidha. "Kunal Shah: FreeCharge's Kunal Shah is back with Fintech firm Cred". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. Bajaj, Karan. "Cred review: Makes credit card bill payments easier, rewards for timely transaction". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  8. "How to pay house rent online with your credit card using CRED app". www.timesnownews.com. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. Staff (20 April 2020). "Cred Rentpay, Stash services launched in India". BGR India. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  10. Dalal, Mihir (4 February 2021). "Forgive us for asking, but what's Cred's business model?". mint. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  11. "Worth $806 mn, Cred's Rs 52-lakh revenue sparks valuation, business model debate". cnbctv18.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  12. Dalal, Mihir (5 January 2021). "Cred raises $81 million, announces Esop buyback worth $1.2 million". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  13. Khaliq, Ariba (25 April 2021). "Great for the Good: Here's everything you can do with CRED". Times of India. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  14. Curtain call with Kunal Shah at Razorpay FTX 2018. Bangalore: Razorpay. 29 January 2019. Event occurs at 13m5s – via YouTube.
  15. "Cred raises $80 million in a funding round led by DST Global, valuation now up at $800 million". Firstpost. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  16. "VC firm Sequoia Capital closes second seed fund at $195 million to back startups in India, Southeast Asia". The Financial Express. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  17. Srikanth, Chandra R (6 April 2021). "Cred Turns Unicorn, Raises $215 Million At A Valuation Of $2.2 Billion". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  18. "Kunal Shah's Cred Raises $120 Mn Series B Funding From Ribbit, Tiger Global And Others". Inc42 Media. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  19. "India's CRED in talks to raise $200 million at $2 billion valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  20. Vardhan, Jai; Tyagi, Gaurav (6 February 2021). "Kunal Shah's CRED spent Rs 727 to earn a rupee in FY20". Entrackr. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  21. "Big Spender CRED Banks On Rent Payments, Credit Lines For Revenue". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  22. Singh, Manesh (11 October 2021). "Indian fintech CRED seeks funds at $5.5 billion valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  23. Manikandan, Ashwin. "Cred's valuation soars to $2.2 billion after fresh funding". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  24. "Influencer Marketing Startup Kofluence Bags $4 Mn From Kunal Shah, Karan Johar". 8 February 2022.
  25. Jose, Teena. "CRED Raises $80 Million In Series F Funding". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  26. "Exclusive: CRED in talks to raise funding, eyes $6.5 bn valuation". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  27. "After Unacademy, Cred Joins IPL 2020 As Official Partner". Inc42 Media. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  28. www.ETBrandEquity.com. "CRED launches 90s inspired multi-film campaign featuring Anil Kapoor - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  29. Bhatt, Shephali. "Who made Bappi Da sing love ballads for credit cards?". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  30. Misra, Shubhangi (1 November 2020). "With Bappi Lahiri to Govinda, India's ad industry is laughing at itself. Not everyone gets why". ThePrint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  31. "Is self-ridicule the new ad formula?". Deccan Herald. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  32. "Govinda's New CRED Ad: Here's Why the Dancing Superstar Said Yes". Latest Odisha News, Breaking News Today | Top Updates on Corona - OTV News. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  33. www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Jim Sarbh engages with audience in Cred's new ad film - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  34. "CRED in the Indian Premier League (IPL): sixer or hit wicket?". The Ken. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  35. www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Opinion: First you pay them, then you mock them? - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  36. "CRED… not everyone gets it: A copywriter's take". afaqs!. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
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