Credit card and lending platform CRED’s tolls increased by 45 percent year-on-year to Rs 524 crore for the duration ended March 31, 2021, from Rs 360 crore a year ago. This was after the outlet lifted more than $450 million in 2021.
The firm, however, saw a bounce in revenues from Rs 18.16 crore in FY20 to Rs 95.53 crore in FY21 on the end of a low base impact. Total revenue from operations increased to Rs 88 crore in FY21 from Rs 52 lakh in FY20.
CRED, founded by continuous entrepreneur Kunal Shah, started in 2018 for India’s most credit-worthy people to pay their credit card bills and earn points. It has since broadened into lending, e-commerce payments, an advertisement for brands, and providing short-term credit via Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) choices.
The firm’s costs rose too, with trade investment up by 289 percent to Rs 222 crore from Rs 57 crore in the corresponding year. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) payouts in the year made twice as much to Rs 44 crore from Rs 22 crore in the last year.
CRED evolved its employee base from 234 to 383 in the year, directing to an increase in salary costs to Rs 83 crore versus Rs 42 crore in the last year. In 2021, the startup lifted up funds through three rounds – $81 million in its Series C round, $215 million in Series D and ultimately $251 million in Series E. CRED’s valuation grew by over four times in the year to $4 billion.
Reports from Moneycontrol.com claimed on February 9 that CRED is already in talks for a $300 million round next and is looking for a $6.5-billion valuation. The new round of funding will potentially be led by a crossover fund from the Middle East while occurring backers – Tiger Global Management and Falcon Edge Capital – will also double down on their bets, sources announced.
In the last one and a half years, CRED has created a loan book of over Rs 2,000 crore, probable with low defaults since it caters to highly credit-worthy customers. Its payments job CRED Pay also filters transactions worth $500 million a year – Gross Merchandise Value on which it doesn’t make wealth yet.
