PhonePe partners with lenders to offer loans on app

Walmart-backed PhonePe on Thursday launched secured lending products on its platform by partnering with a network of banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and fintechs.

PhonePe's 535 million registered users will now have access to lending solutions directly within the PhonePe app across six major categories - mutual fund loan, bike loan, car loan, home loan, gold loan and education loan.

PhonePe has partnered with lenders such as Tata Capital, L&T Finance, Hero FinCorp, Muthoot Fincorp, DMI Housing Finance, Home First Finance, Avanse, rupyy, Volt Money, and Gradright. The digital payments firm plans to add more lenders in the coming weeks.

The platform currently has 15 active partners and aims to scale to 25 by the next quarter. Users can avail the loan facility under the existing ‘Loan’ section on their PhonePe app, select their desired loan category, and choose from a list of lenders.

PhonePe says the loan application journey will be initiated within PhonePe’s app, eliminating the need to navigate multiple applications, and simplifying the process for the user.

“This provides us with the opportunity to connect lenders and millions of our customers across the country on a single platform to meet their financial needs. Lenders are investing heavily in digitising the secured loan journeys and customers are adapting to the digitisation at a rapid pace. We believe it’s a great time to revolutionise secured lending product experience for the customers working with the lending ecosystem,” says Hemant Gala, CEO, PhonePe Lending.

By harnessing the combined expertise and resources of both companies, we are poised to provide best-in-class solutions tailored to meet the varied needs of customers seeking housing and two-wheeler financing, says Sudipta Roy, managing director and CEO at L&T Finance.

“This collaboration underscores our dedication to empowering individuals and families to realise their homeownership and mobility aspirations. Customers can anticipate streamlined processes, competitive rates, and personalised services that prioritise their financial well-being,” says Roy.

“Our partnership with PhonePe aims to broaden the accessibility of our lending services to their user base. This partnership not only reinforces our digital-first approach but also highlights our effort to boost credit penetration across India,” says Vivek Chopra, COO - Retail Finance at Tata Capital.

PhonePe Group has expanded into financial services, insurance, lending, wealth as well as new consumer tech businesses Pincode, a hyperlocal e-commerce venture. In February, PhonePe launched the Indus Appstore on Android devices. The app store enables users to discover apps in 12 Indian languages. PhonePe had forayed into stockbroking last year.

In just seven years, the company has scaled rapidly to become India’s leading consumer payments app with over 535 million registered users and a digital payments network of over 39 million merchants. PhonePe processes over 255 million daily transactions.