Fintech Kiwi raises $24M from Vertex, Stellaris, Nexus, and Omidyar
Kiwi said it will use the funds to speed product development and reinforce unit economics.
Kiwi, a Bengaluru-based fintech that offers credit on India’s UPI network, has raised $24 million (about Rs 208 crore) in a Series B round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, with participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Omidyar Network.
The company said it will use the funds to speed product development and reinforce unit economics.
Founded by Siddharth Mehta, Mohit Bedi, and Anup Agrawal, the company said it has issued 200,000 RuPay credit cards since launching in 2023, and now processes more than five million merchant transactions a month across 600 cities. It has partnerships with YES Bank and AU Bank and plans to add two more large banking partners in the current financial year. The company plans to issue one million RuPay cards by 2027.
“As credit on UPI gains momentum, our vision is clear—we want Kiwi to be the go-to-platform for users by delivering an unmatched experience across onboarding, payment convenience, and rewards," Anup Agrawal, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kiwi, said.
"The fresh capital will enable us to double down on this commitment, supported by robust product innovations. In the long-term, we want to be at the forefront of shaping the ‘Credit-on-UPI’ category impacting the lives of millions in every corner of India,” he added.
“We believe Credit Card on UPI is a unique product marrying UPI’s deep penetration with India’s growing demand for card and credit products. We are excited by the team’s vision and execution and believe they are strongly positioned to grow into one of the leading players driving credit cards adoption in India,” said Kanika Mayar, Partner at Vertex Ventures SEA & India.
Citing market potential, Kiwi said India has over 350 million unique UPI users—roughly 8 to 10 times the number of credit-card users, and that the acceptance network for credit-on-UPI is about 35 times larger than for traditional credit cards.
Edited by Megha Reddy