ClearTax to enter lending space, will tie-up with NBFCs to service SME loans

ClearTax is reportedly looking at partnering with non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to enter the lending business. The company has created a separate division for this purpose.

It plans to provide loans to under serviced small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in FY21, Business Standard reported.

“Through our association with SMEs we realised that their access to credit is low, but due to COVID-19 businesses are in need of credit. We will be partnering with lenders for now as we don’t have our NBFC licence,” Archit Gupta, founder and CEO at ClearTax, told the paper.

Gupta said the plan was not recent, but was accelerated due to the pandemic.

On the business-side, Gupta said online tax filings have dropped, but is expected to pick up once more businesses re-open. The company said it in fact gained market share in the space.

“There has been a rapid growth from the chartered accountant (CA) business in areas that have been more affected by the coronavirus such as Maharashtra and Gujarat. We are hopeful that things will normalise around September,” he added.

To keep business running, ClearTax has allowed employees to extend work from home option till September. It is also looking to hire more employees in the research and development division this year, Gupta stated. He however ruled out any fund raising by the company this year.