Paisabazaar Rolls out its Neo-lending Strategy, Launches Step Up Credit Card with SBM Bank India

Gurgaon, Haryana, India

• Step Up Credit Card is a secured credit card, backed by a FD
• Aimed for consumers, who are new to credit or have damaged credit
• The card has an end-to-end digital process, with instant issuance and activation
• First in line in Paisabazaar’s neo-lending strategy, aimed to drive inclusiveness

Paisabazaar.com, India’s largest lending marketplace and Credit Score platform, and SBM Bank India, the youngest universal Bank, today announced the launch of Step Up Credit Card – a credit builder product designed for consumers with limited access to formal credit, due to ineligible credit score.

A key part of Paisabazaar’s long-term growth strategy is building neo-lending products with partners, to meet specific consumer need gaps. These innovative products would drive inclusiveness, by enabling underserved segments to access credit and over the long-term, strengthen the lending ecosystem.

The Step Up Credit Card, built in partnership with SBM Bank India, is the first product to be launched under Paisabazaar’s neo-lending strategy.

A secured card provided against a fixed deposit (with SBM Bank India), Step Up Card helps consumers with damaged credit or those with no credit history to steadily build their Credit Score. While responsible use of Step Up Credit Card enables consumers to reach a strong Credit Score, it also allows them to enjoy benefits of a credit card, and earn strong returns on their fixed deposit. For more details on Step Up Credit Card www.paisabazaar.com/stepupcard/.

Neeraj Sinha, Head, Retail & Consumer Banking, SBM Bank India, said, “At SBM Bank India, we believe smart banking – being a combination of technology and banking as a service, solves problems and empowers people. In India, the penetration of credit cards is low owing to lack of credit history and high delinquencies. We partnered with Paisabazaar to design a product that solved both these challenges – backed by a fixed deposit, it not only protects the quality of the assets but also helps build the credit score. We conducted a pilot program which witnessed great results and today we are launching the card for everyone.”

Consumers can take the Step Up Credit Card on the Paisabazaar platform through a completely digital and paperless process, with instant issuance and activation. Paisabazaar and SBM Bank India are also creating a program that would enable revisions in credit limit, based on consumer usage and behaviour through the Step Up Credit Card.

Paisabazaar aims to meet the credit needs of underserved segments

Low penetration of formal credit in India is reflected in the country’s household debt to GDP ratio, which is significantly lower than that of developed markets like the UK and US. This is primarily because large segments of India’s population have remained outside the realm of formal credit. While segments like Salaried Prime have been traditionally served well by large Banks and NBFCs, other large segments like Salaried Sub-Prime, New to Credit and SMEs have had limited access to formal credit.

The penetration of credit cards, for instance, is dwindling at ~5%, with only ~60 million active Credit Cards in the country, as per RBI data. According to an analysis by Paisabazaar, only ~25%-30% of those who apply for a credit card in India are able to get one. Around 30% of rejections for credit cards by Banks are due to ineligible credit score.

Naveen Kukreja, CEO & Co-founder, Paisabazaar.com, said, “For India’s lending industry, the big challenge remains market under-penetration. Even today, credit is restricted to only select consumer segments. At Paisabazaar, we are uniquely placed to expand the reach of formal credit, together with our partners. The Step Up Card, created with SBM Bank India, is a testimony to our commitment to serve underserved customer segments.”

Paisabazaar’s neo-lending products, like the Step Up Credit Card, are specifically targeted at these large segments, with the aim to make them more credit healthy and strengthen their eligibility for future needs. With 100% approval rates, segments who traditionally struggle to get a Credit Card due to employment type or geography, would also be able to use the Step Up Credit Card and get benefits of a credit card.

Under its neo-lending strategy, Paisabazaar plans to co-create and introduce innovative products that would meet specific need gaps of varied consumer segments.

Gaurav Aggarwal, Senior Director, Paisabazaar.com, said, “Along with catering to the needs of underserved segments, ownership of processes and products would help us offer a great consumer experience. Also, data related to usage and behaviour would provide key insights and intelligence, enabling us to identify consumer needs more accurately, fostering further innovations.”

About Paisabazaar.com

• Paisabazaar.com is India’s largest lending marketplace & Credit Score Platform
• The platform has 70+ partnerships with India’s leading Banks, NBFCs, Credit Bureaus and fintech lenders
• Paisabazaar offers products across lending categories to cater to the credit needs of varied consumer segments visiting its platform
• Paisabazaar also runs India’s largest credit awareness initiative, by offering consumers their free credit report with lifetime tracking
• The platform has been conferred with ‘Excellence in Consumer Lending‘ award by India Digital Awards, AT “Best BFSI Brand”, ‘Most Innovative Lending Platform‘ by India Fintech Forum, Money Tech “Start-up of the Year” and Money Tech “Best Customer Experience Innovation” awards, among other recognitions
• PaisaBazaar.com is part of PB Fintech that also owns India’s leading insurtech brand, PolicyBazaar.com.

About SBM Bank India
SBM Bank (India) Limited “SBM Bank India” is the first bank to receive universal banking license from the Reserve Bank of India to set up and operate as a Scheduled Commercial Bank under Wholly Owned Subsidiary (WOS) mode offering banking services in India. SBM Bank India has a network of 8 branches located in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ramachandrapuram, Palghar and Ahmedabad.

SBM Bank India has profound domain expertise and is led by a core team comprising of industry veterans having over a century of cumulative experience in banking and financial services. The Bank offers a diverse suite of universal products and services to its customers which include Deposits, Advances, NRI Services, Treasury Products and Trade Finance Services. SBM Bank India stands poised to embark on a new journey, innovating in every sphere of its business, expanding its service proposition to include an extensive suite of retail and wholesale banking products and capital markets.