PhonePe Launches Platform for Merchant Lending

PhonePe, announced the launch of its Merchant lending platform allowing Banks and NBFC's (Non-Banking Financial Companies) to provide access to credit in a completely digital and seamless manner to its vast merchant base of over 35 million merchants. This reaffirms PhonePe’s commitment to driving financial inclusion for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

SMEs in India have long faced challenges in accessing organized credit, impeding their growth and hindering their potential. Understanding this unmet need, PhonePe has designed a seamless end-to-end journey on the PhonePe for Business app, ensuring that loans are approved by lending partners in a matter of minutes. PhonePe leverages its strong distribution network and superior tech capabilities, while the Lending partners bring in their expertise in underwriting, disbursals and loan collection.

PhonePe has successfully facilitated the disbursal of over 20,000 loans through its trusted NBFC partners since May 2023. The phenomenal early traction the company has seen highlights the tremendous demand for credit among SMEs and the effectiveness of PhonePe’s Marketplace model in fulfilling this need. One of the distinguishing factors that sets PhonePe apart is its strong engagement with merchants in the payments business. The company's in-depth understanding of a merchant’s transactional behavior is a strong dimension that validates the health of the merchant’s business. Furthermore, PhonePe is actively developing its own credit score using cutting-edge data science-driven models, which further augments the partner’s lending process and empower SMEs to access credit with greater ease.

Speaking on the launch, Hemant Gala, Vice President of Financial Services said, “Promoting financial inclusion is at the core of PhonePe’s mission. We are excited to launch Merchant Lending on our platform using the Marketplace Model, providing SMEs & MSMEs with access to organized credit and enabling their growth. By serving as a catalyst for the financial empowerment of MSME & SMEs, PhonePe is proud to contribute to the overall development of the economy and drive sustainable progress.’’