Indian fintech firm MobiKwik is targeting a 50-billion-rupee ($522.5 million) loan book from its in-house non-banking financial company (NBFC) over the next three to five years as it increases focus on merchant lending, its CEO said.
The Gurugram-based firm, which offers payment services and financial products to consumers and merchants, received central bank approval for a non-bank lending licence in April. Currently, it operates as a lending service provider, distributing loans through partner lenders.
MobiKwik Financial Services will allow the firm to take lending risk on its own balance sheet and reduce dependence on partners, Bipin Preet Singh told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
“Doing (just) a 10-billion-rupee NBFC is not our ambition. Our goal is that at least in the next three to five years, we will have a book of 50 billion rupees,” he said.
The company’s current loan book with partner lenders stands at “a couple of thousand crores” or around 20 billion rupees, according to Singh.
MobiKwik expects to begin NBFC operations in the December 2026 quarter with consumer loans, with an aim to soon expand into merchant lending, which Singh described as a key focus.
The company has doubled down on its merchant business with increased investments and expects to grow it tenfold by fiscal 2028. Singh did not disclose the current size of the business.
The increased push into merchant business comes at a time when payments revenue growth has remained under pressure, weighed by a higher mix of consumer transactions via India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) facility. UPI payments carry no fees for users.
Fourth-quarter revenue in this segment was flat year-on-year at 2.12 billion rupees.
However, its gross merchandise value rose 58%, with Singh saying the sharp rise would translate into revenue growth over time through cross-selling of loans.
“The more payments you process on the consumer side, the more profiles, the more active customers, right? So technically you can give more loans,” he said.
Reuters
