Fintech startup Kiwi raises $13M in a Series A round led by Omidyar Network India

Kiwi, a credit card management fintech startup, has raised $13 million (Rs 108 Crore) in a Series A funding round led by Omidyar Network India. Existing investors  Nexus Venture Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners also participated in this round. 

The company said it aims to further expand its credit cards on UPI offerings in India.

Founded in November last year, Kiwi is one of the first fintech firms in India to launch credit cards with UPI by issuing digital RuPay Cards in collaboration with banks. 

Currently, it has a partnership with Axis Bank for these cards and plans to collaborate with two large banks in the next six months.

The third-party UPI app (TPAP) app allows users to make secure payments using either a credit card or a bank account directly through their phones. It claims to have issued 25,000 credit cards to date, and aims to onboard 5 lakh customers by end of 2024, it said in a statement. 

“We started a few months back and looking at the positive response we have received in the last six months of our existence, this fresh round of financing comes at a critical juncture in our business,” said Co-founder and CEO Anup Agrawal, according to a statement. 

“The funds will enable us to further develop our services and offer innovative products to our customers as we enter the next phase of product development and growth,” he added.  

Kiwi is the brainchild of senior fintech executives and banking industry veterans, Siddharth Mehta (former CEO, Freecharge), Mohit Bedi (former Axis Bank and PayU executive), and Agrawal (former business head, LazyPay).

The Bengaluru-based fintech company had previously raised $6 million from Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and a host of angel investors.

Speaking on the potential of the product, Kiwi is looking to tap the vast user base of nearly 300 million UPI users, out of which only 40 million are deemed credit-worthy by banks based on traditional underwriting criteria. 

The number of unique UPI users is 8-10 times the number of existing credit card users in India, and the acceptance points for ‘Credit on UPI’ are estimated to be 35X larger than regular credit card acceptance points. “This presents significant growth potential for Kiwi,” it said. 

“Increasing access to affordable and convenient financial products beyond digital payments and ensuring deeper and more consistent usage of formal credit is the critical next step in advancing the financial inclusion journey of India’s next half billion. We believe in the transformative power of Kiwi’s solutions and are excited to back the team,” said Treasa Mathew, Director, Omidyar Network India.