Kunal Shah, the founder of digital payment company FreeCharge has rolled out his own new venture known as Cred which is a financial services platform targeting consumers with high creditworthiness.
For the launch of this startup, the founder has already raised an amount of $25 million (about Rs 177 crore) in funding led by Sequoia Capital and financial technology-focussed fund Ribbit Capital.
With this new startup, the consumers will be able to pay their credit card bills and get rewarded in the form of Cred Coins. The basic idea behind this new venture is to tap into the country’s growing credit card base and push products to consumers with high credit scores and offer to them rewards and benefits.
“There is a lot of lack of awareness around credit card payments among a majority of people. They don’t understand many of the charges levied in their statements. Cred wants to address the lack of financial knowledge among consumers and how they should manage their money,” Shah stated.
The company has partnered with brands including Airbnb, BookMyShow, Urban Ladder and FreshMenu. The founder also mentioned that Cred.Club, which is currently in beta stage, will assist users with credit scores of over 750 to understand and navigate their credit card statements, particularly with regard to hidden charges, and reward them accordingly.
Along with this, the new company will also look to get into the insurance domain, with the aim of reducing the cost of car or health insurance, which are often prohibitively high in India, and introduce lending to its users.
Also, the startup will source consumers through credit card bill payments and rewards, then use the base to develop high-end loyalty and concierge and other such services.