Fintech startup Slice abandons credit lines, moves to term loans with new 'feature'
Slice, a card-based pay-later startup, in an email to its users, said it is launching a new feature called 'Purchase Power', which will assess every single transaction to determine borrowers' creditworthiness.
Following the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) June notification that sought to bar non-bank PPIs from extending credit lines, —a pay-later card startup considerably affected by the move—has said it will now start offering real-time transaction-based term loans instead of a credit line.
In its latest product update, Slice rolled out a new feature to users called 'purchase power' to assess every single transaction made by users and make a decision on whether it will be processed.
The email, seen by YourStory, says the move is to "safeguard you from risks such as fraudulent merchants and credibility issues".
"The decision will be determined primarily based on merchant credibility, risk, fraud checks, and your past payments, and repayment patterns," Slice wrote in an email to its users.
The fintech startup did not immediately respond to YourStory's queries.
In its email, Slice said it will employ data science modelling and artificial intelligence (AI) to make the transaction decisions better and faster. It assured customers their credit scores would not be affected by the latest product update.
Moreover, it had asked its customers to check their spending power on the app to understand whether their transaction will go through at the point of sale (PoS).
Last month, the RBI barred fintech firms from loading credit lines into prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) and wallets, forcing card-based pay-later companies to rethink their approach.
Founded in 2016 by Rajan Bajaj, Slice offers credit and payment cards (in partnership with Visa and SBM Bank), targeting young consumers with limited to no credit history. Yet to turn profitable, Slice claims to have five million registered users on its platform.
In June, the Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings accessed by YourStory, showed Slice had received shareholders' approval to raise Rs 200 crore by allotting Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs).
The fintech startup has raised $50 million in its Series C round from Tiger Global Management, Moore Strategic Ventures, Insight Partners, and GMO VenturePartners.
The startup said it would use the capital to support its new UPI product expansion. To date, Slice has raised $270 million in total funding.
Edited by Suman Singh
