Kiwi raises $24 mn in series B led by Vertex Ventures to expand Credit-on-UPI offerings

Kiwi raises $24 mn in series B led by Vertex Ventures to expand Credit-on-UPI offerings

Fintech startup Kiwi, which pioneered the concept of Credit-on-UPI, has raised $24 million (Rs 208 crore) in its Series B funding round led by Vertex Ventures South East Asia & India, with participation from Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Omidyar Network.

The Bengaluru-based company said the fresh capital will be used to accelerate its product roadmap, strengthen unit economics, and expand partnerships with banks. Kiwi, founded in 2022 by Siddharth Mehta, Mohit Bedi, and Anup Agrawal, enables users to access credit lines via UPI by issuing RuPay credit cards linked to the payments network.

Since its launch in 2023, Kiwi claims to have issued over 2 lakh RuPay credit cards and is processing more than 5 million merchant transactions monthly across 600 cities.

It has partnered with YES Bank and AU Bank and plans to add two more large banks in FY26. The company has set a target of issuing 1 million RuPay cards by 2027.

“With credit on UPI gaining momentum, our vision is to make Kiwi the go-to platform for users, combining seamless onboarding, payment convenience, and rewards,” said cofounder and CEO Anup Agrawal.

According to Vertex’s Kanika Mayar, the model combines UPI’s deep penetration with India’s rising demand for credit cards. India has over 350 million unique UPI users, nearly 10x the number of credit card holders, highlighting the growth potential for Credit-on-UPI.