Cred, a Bengaluru-based fintech platform, outpaced PhonePe in terms of bill payment value in May 2025, processing ₹52,000 crore, 75% more than PhonePe’s ₹30,000 crore. While PhonePe leads in bill payment volume, Cred dominates in high-value transactions, driven by its focus on credit card bill payments through the Bharat Connect platform.

Cred, a Bengaluru-based fintech company known for its credit card bill payment and rewards platform, processed ₹52,000 crore in bill payments in May 2025—75% more than its nearest competitor PhonePe, India’s largest mobile and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform.

This data, reported by Bharat Connect, India’s central utility payment platform managed under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) initiative, highlights the contrasting strengths of both platforms: PhonePe leads in volume, while Cred leads in value.

While Cred processed 3.6 crore bills in May, with an average bill size exceeding ₹14,000, PhonePe handled 9.3 crore bills, but with a lower average value of ₹3,000. PhonePe’s total bill payment value in May stood at ₹30,000 crore.

Cred’s dominance is attributed to its position as the country’s leading platform for credit card bill payments. The company joined the Bharat Connect ecosystem in September 2024 after RBI mandated routing of all credit card bill payments through the platform (formerly Bharat Bill Payment System).

The regulatory directive prompted Cred to become a certified Customer Operating Unit (COU) under Bharat Connect in August 2024, ensuring all its credit card bill settlements align with the RBI’s guidelines from September onwards.

Founded as a credit card payment reward platform, Cred has evolved into a comprehensive financial services provider. Its services now span UPI transactions, vehicle management, wealth tech, and lending, including a product named Svalbard, which allows users to secure digital credit lines against mutual funds.

In FY24, Cred posted a 66% revenue increase to ₹2,473 crore, while reducing operational losses by 41% to ₹609 crore. With 145 million UPI transactions monthly, Cred is currently the sixth-largest UPI player in India, handling approximately ₹55,000 crore worth of transactions every month.

Meanwhile, PhonePe, which is owned by Walmart, has maintained its leadership in transaction volumes and reported a 60% YoY growth in bill payment value, rising from ₹18,700 crore in May 2024 to ₹30,000 crore in May 2025.

The Bharat Connect platform, initiated by the RBI in 2017, aims to unify all utility billers across India on a single digital infrastructure. Prior to its establishment, apps like PhonePe and others connected directly with utility providers for payments.

Read the full article here: UPI vs Credit Cards: Why Cred Is Winning the Bill Game — For more updates, visit Wittiya – Top Business News, Stock Market Insights & Financial Updates (Wittiya).

India’s fintech unicorn CRED, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, has raised ₹617 crore ($72 million) in a Series G funding round. Despite the new investment, the company’s valuation has dropped 45% to $3.5 billion, reflecting a broader industry trend of focusing on sustainable growth and IPO readiness.

CRED, a leading fintech company based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, has raised ₹617 crore (approx. $72 million) in a new funding round, even as its valuation fell sharply by 45% to $3.5 billion. The funding comes at a crucial time as the company positions itself for a potential IPO in the coming years.

Founded by Kunal Shah, CRED initially gained popularity as a credit card payment platform and has since expanded into a comprehensive suite of financial services. The Series G round was led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC through its Lathe Investment arm, contributing ₹354 crore. Other notable investors included RTP Global (₹74 crore), Sofina Ventures (₹25.8 crore), and QED Innovation Labs, the family office of CRED’s founder, which infused ₹162 crore.

This funding round, made up entirely of primary capital, saw no investor exits. The valuation reset is being seen as a strategic recalibration, aligning CRED’s value with public market benchmarks ahead of its IPO ambitions.

While the valuation decline reflects the shift in investor sentiment across the startup ecosystem, it also underscores a maturing approach among fintechs to prioritize profitability and transparency. CRED’s revenue jumped 66% YoY to ₹2,473 crore in FY24, and operating losses reduced to ₹609 crore from ₹1,024 crore in the previous fiscal year. However, net losses, including ESOPs and taxes, rose 22% to ₹1,644 crore.

CRED has grown far beyond its original model. It now offers unsecured personal loans, secured lending against mutual funds, and vehicle management through its CRED Garage service, which oversees over 11 million vehicles. Its lending partners have built a loan book of more than ₹15,000 crore using CRED’s platform.

The company has also added features such as credit score monitoring, hidden fee detection, FASTag recharge, and shopping rewards to strengthen its financial ecosystem.

As more Indian fintechs prepare for public listings, CRED’s approach—raising fresh capital while accepting a valuation cut—is being interpreted as a move toward operational discipline and long-term sustainability. With consistent revenue growth and a more diversified service portfolio, CRED is aiming to establish itself as one of India’s most credible IPO-ready startups.

Read the full article here: CRED Resets for Greatness with Fresh ₹617 Crore Funding — For more updates, visit Wittiya – Top Business News, Stock Market Insights & Financial Updates (Wittiya).

Cred, a Bengaluru-based fintech company backed by Tiger Global and Peak XV, has become the first fintech platform to offer access to India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched its e-rupee pilot in December 2022, initially limiting access to banks. On April 2024, RBI expanded the pilot to include payment firms, allowing Cred to facilitate e-rupee transactions through YES Bank.

Bengaluru-based fintech platform Cred, backed by Tiger Global and Peak XV, has become the first non-banking entity to offer access to India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the e-rupee pilot in December 2022, initially allowing only banks to participate. However, in April 2024, the central bank opened the initiative to payment firms, enabling fintech platforms like Cred to facilitate digital currency transactions.

As part of this rollout, Cred users will be able to transact with e-rupee tokens issued into their wallets by YES Bank. The company plans a phased launch, initially providing access to a select group of users before expanding the service further.

India’s Digital Currency Race

The move positions Cred ahead of competitors like GooglePay, PhonePe, AmazonPay, and MobiKwik, who had also expressed interest in joining the RBI’s digital currency initiative. While the e-rupee saw an initial surge in transactions, adoption has slowed, reflecting global challenges in mainstreaming central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Cred’s founder Kunal Shah emphasized the company’s goal of making digital currency transactions “frictionless” and driving its adoption among India’s most creditworthy users.

With this development, India is taking a significant step toward a cashless economy, leveraging fintech partnerships to enhance digital financial infrastructure.

Read the full article here: Behind Closed Doors: How Cred Got Early Access to the e-Rupee — For more updates, visit Wittiya – Top Business News, Stock Market Insights & Financial Updates (Wittiya).