CRED raises $251 mln in fresh funding at a valuation of $4 bln

Kunal Shah-led CRED has closed a fresh $251 million funding round led by existing investors Tiger Global and Falcon Edge Capital. The investment values the three-year-old startup at $4 billion, people familiar with the matter tell Fortune India. The series E financial round saw new investors Marshall Wace and Steadfast joining CRED’s cap table. A clutch of existing backers including DST Global, Insight Partners, Coatue, Sofina, RTP and Dragoneer also participated in the round, sources say.

CRED was valued at about $2.2 billion in April when it turned unicorn after securing $215 million in funding from investors. A company spokesperson confirmed the funding but refused to give further details. CRED’s total fund count now stands at close to $700 million.

The company started as a credit card bill payment platform but has since expanded its bouquet of offerings, including services like CRED Cash—an instant, three-step personal credit line, and CRED RentPay—which allows members to put their monthly rent on their credit card instead of cash. CRED—which has over 7.5 million users—claims to facilitate about 25% of credit card bill payments in India. In August, the fintech firm launched CRED Mint—a community-driven product that enables members to earn interest on idle money by lending to other high-trust members.

With services being offered by startups becoming more mainstream and local consumers increasingly betting on the digital, investor funding for startups continues unabated. A recent study by PwC reads that Indian startups collectively bagged a whopping $10.9 billion in funding in Q3 CY21 alone—reaching the milestone of quarterly investments surpassing the $10 billion mark. Fintech, Edtech and SaaS segments cornered the bulk of the investments, analysts at the firm tell.

“Investors are taking a keen look at India to ensure their presence in the country’s rapidly growing consumer economy which is supported by enabling policies that are geared towards ease of doing business and boosting investments. FinTech is not only a standalone sector, that is lucrative considering the opportunity for financialisation in India, but also addresses the larger issue of consumer internet platforms—which are digitising and formalising a fragmented and unorganised economy,” they say.