Kissht closes $80 mn round to target young, aspirational Indians; Launches “Ring” platform to be the largest challenger to credit cards

Mumbai: Kissht, India’s leading payments and lending fintech, today announced a funding round of $ 80 mn. The round was led by Vertex Growth and Brunei Investment Agency. Existing investors Vertex Ventures SEA & India and Endiya Partners also participated. Kissht also announced its foray into credit backed cards and launch of a millennial focussed brand “Ring”.

Ring aims to be a brand that appeals to young, aspirational millennials. This segment has a credit card penetration of sub 2%. The factors driving low penetration are lack of POS infrastructure in non-top tier merchants and inability of banks to service these customers given higher costs of acquisition and inferior risk understanding. The company aims to solve for these issues through a “fully digital”, “consumer first” credit and payments app. Customers can use Ring to pay for e-commerce transaction, pay to merchant, pay to self, pay to friend. Ring intends to be the credit card challenger for large base of customers who are otherwise seeking convenience in their transaction.

The funds will be used to enhance the product offering for millennials and add other relevant financial products. Further, the company plans to build a strong loyalty offering in line with the evolving needs of the target segment. The focus will be on driving higher stickiness by offering rewards on most relevant spend categories (e.g. grocery, travel, lifestyle, etc.).

Commenting on the funding, Ranvir Singh, Founder and CEO, Kissht said “There are over 150 mn people, of which the majority are young millennials, who are either underserved or un-served on transaction credit. The transaction usage of millennial consumers are constantly evolving and they always look for ease and convenience. We are offering a one-stop credit and payment solution, which can be used “any and everywhere” and change the way people use credit. With these transactions, we want to create a bond with the customer to help them across other banking needs. We are excited to partner with VGF and BIA. Majority of the capital will go in further strengthening our product offerings”

Adding to it, Mr. Krishnan Vishwanathan, Founder, Executive Director, Kissht said, “The convenience and seamless experience that the product will provide will be one of a kind in the industry. We are excited for the next phase of growth where we focus not only customer acquisition but also offering a hassle-free experience and increasing customer delight in every transaction that they make using our platform.”

James Lee, Managing Partner of Vertex Growth, said, “The founders of Kissht have a unique understanding of the needs of the new to credit population of India. The multiservice credit and payments offering will revolutionise the way millennials and other new borrowers use and think about credit. We are excited to join this passionate and driven team to deliver credit solutions for the new generation.”