BharatPe, the payments and lending fintech firm, has introduced a new standalone investment app—Invest BharatPe-- to host company’s investment offerings, including the popular P2P lending product ‘12% club’ which now stands rebranded under the new app.
This comes few months after P2P lending platforms like Liquiloans, Lendenclub, Faircent, Lendbox, among others, and their consumer facing apps like BharatPe, Paytm, Cred etc. had put a pause on new investments and fund pooling to adhere and adjust to the RBI's stricter guidelines.
Competitors in the space, like Mobikwik’s Xtra, had updated their withdrawal policies, while Cred had put a hold on accepting new deposits. BharatPe, which had previously slowed down onboarding for 12% Club earlier in July, has now temporarily halted it altogether as it navigates the compliance landscape.
As the Peak XV Partners-backed firm overhauls its P2P offerings, the company is moving forward with plans to launch fixed deposit (FD) options.
As per sources, the app had already partnered with a roster of financial players, including Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra Finance, and Suryoday Small Finance Bank. The new fixed deposit offerings, which is currently a part of upcoming investment suite, will start with a minimum deposit of just Rs 1,000, targeting a broader range of investors.
Further, the new app will also have the option of investing in digital gold in collaboration with digital platform Safegold, a previous offering under the main app.
Responding to Moneycontrol queries, a BharatPe spokesperson said, "This is another step in BharatPe's mission to drive financial inclusion. We have launched the new app Invest BharatPe with the objective of helping the people of Bharat achieve better financial health."
He further added, saying, "12% club has halted taking deposits as per the guidelines of our NBFC partners. The existing users continue to have access to it through the new app."
Hiving off
The development also comes amid BharatPe's improving financials. The fintech firm reported a 39 percent jump in operating revenue to Rs 1,426 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,029 crore a year earlier. It also narrowed its consolidated loss before taxes by 50 percent to Rs 474 crore from Rs 941 crore in the year-ago period.
At the group level, its consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) loss before share-based payment expense reduced 75% to Rs 209 crore in FY24 from Rs 826 crore in the last fiscals.
In parallel with its investment business overhaul, BharatPe had previously solidified its lending operations by creating a new subsidiary, Resilient Digi Services Private Limited, under which it houses its consumer and merchant lending services.
This subsidiary, which operates under the brand name BharatPe Money, includes BharatPe Easy Loans and Postpe—a BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) service for consumers.
The newly incorporated subsidiary is headed by BharatPe’s interim CEO, Nalin Negi, and Rijish Raghavan, both listed as directors according to the company’s regulatory filings.
BharatPe currently runs three entities – Resilient Innovations Private Limited (merchant app), Resilient Payments Private Limited (Payment unit), and the newly-hived Resilient Digi Services Private Limited (lending unit). The new app continues to operate under Resilient Innovations.
In April, BharatPe rejigged senior management of its payment and lending unit verticals, PTI reported. The company elevated its banking and alliance Chief Business Officer Sandeep Indurkar as CEO of payment vertical.
CEO BharatPe's Zillion -- erstwhile Payback India -- Rijish Raghavan now handles device business of the company while head for consumer lending vertical Kohinoor Biswas took over Zillion in place of Raghavan.
On September 30, BharatPe entered into an agreement to settle all its disputes with cofounder Ashneer Grover and his family. As a part of the settlement, Grover has severed all ties with BharatPe.
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