Zestmoney

DMI Finance was in the fray to acquire ZestMoney. Aditya Birla Finance, Piramal and Hero Fincorp who were also in the race had backed out citing high exposure

DMI Finance likely to close acquisition of BNPL firm ZestMoney in next two weeks

According to sources, the officials of DMI Finance held a meeting with the employees including the ones that received the pink slips from ZestMoney regarding the fire sale and said that most of them will retain their jobs in the startup

From GoMechanic to ZestMoney: Why thousands of startups shut shop in 2023

While companies such as Zestmoney and Striker saw their business models fail after a tighter regulatory landscape, several others simply couldn’t find their product market fit (PMF).

BNPL startup ZestMoney to shut down, to let go of remaining 150 employees

The move to shut down ZestMoney, which was last valued at $450 million, comes months after it raised fresh capital from Quona Capital, Omidyar Network India, Flourish Ventures, Zip and Scarlet Capital.

ZestMoney gets a lifeline, existing investors infuse capital

This comes months after Walmart-backed PhonePe called off its deal with ZestMoney over due diligence concerns that led to a huge setback for the BNPL platform.

ZestMoney to stop insurance biz, affiliate programmes as it charts revival plan

Chapman explained how it was critical for fintech businesses to diversify and have different offerings amid rising competition in the space over the last two years. But she said that most of these companies realised that the core lending business is usually the most profitable.

MC Interview: We played a good game, we have no regrets, Co-founder Lizzie Chapman after resigning as ZestMoney CEO

As part of its revival efforts, ZestMoney will shut down its insurance business and affiliate programmes and will shift majority of its focus towards its core business of lending and EMI for consumer goods.

ZestMoney eyes new funding round from existing investors as part of revival plan

In April, PhonePe extended another credit line to ZestMoney.

ZestMoney 2.0: New leadership, assured variable pay for employees & profitability goals set

ZestMoney will be run by new leadership team of Mohit Chhajer, Mandar Satpute and Abhishek Sharma. The startup has 150 employees

Morning Scan: All the big stories to get you started for the day

A round-up of top newspaper stories to keep you ahead of others

ZestMoney founders call it quits 2 months after PhonePe deal falls through

Chapman was the Chief Executive Officer, Sharma served as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and Anantharaman was the the Chief Technology Officer.

ZestMoney to lay off 20% of workforce after PhonePe deal collapse

Founders and the top leadership team of ZestMoney held a Townhall on April 6 to inform the layoffs to employees. The company had about 450 employees and is planning to lay off across its workforce.

PhonePe's due diligence on ZestMoney was unsatisfactory: Sameer Nigam on deal collapse

Nigam’s comments on the ZestMoney deal falling through were the first official acceptance of the acquisition deal by PhonePe, which it was evaluating since last year and was first reported in November 2022. Both PhonePe, and ZestMoney had stayed away from commenting on it officially

ZestMoney weighs layoffs as deal with PhonePe falls through

On March 31, Priya Sharma, co-founder of the BNPL platform sent out a message to a few startups seeking help for outplacing ZestMoney employees. ZestMoney has around 450 employees

PhonePe calls off deal with Zest Money over due diligence concerns

PhonePe initiated talks to acquire ZestMoney in November to bolster its digital lending forays

Digital lenders align with new RBI norms ahead of November 30 deadline, brace for consolidation

Fintechs have changed core business models, lending flows and processes since the new digital lending norms came into effect in August.

PhonePe in talks to buy ZestMoney to bolster digital lending plans

The development comes at a time when PhonePe is in talks to raise a mega round of $450-500 million, likely to be led by General Atlantic.

Quona Capital closes $332 million fintech fund to invest in emerging markets

In India, Quona Capital sees an opportunity to invest in fintech infrastructure, embedded and verticalised finance as well as insurtech.

BNPL players expect up to 8X credit spike in festive bonanza despite RBI speed-breakers

Fintechs looking to capture market share from players restricted by new norms; see inflation as a tailwind for credit demand.

RBI’s digital lending rules cover the same ground, long way to go

Months after the RBI hinted that it is ready to release the norms, it has only approved 12 guidelines as hygiene norms to be followed by regulated entities keeping in mind customer safety. The key issue of thwarting unregulated fake apps through norms still remains unresolved.

Slice will now lend like its BNPL peers through its card to adhere to RBI directive

In a mail to customers, Slice has said that customers will have to seek fresh credit approval every time they use their card, as opposed to a free-to-use credit line. This is similar to how pure play BNPL players like ZestMoney and Axio lend.

With rising interest rates, inflation, RBI’s lens, India’s BNPL players may face speed breakers ahead

Experts are revising growth estimates downwards for the industry for FY23 in light of the current macro environment. Besides, increased focus on compliance may make these players lend in a more structured manner and not at the same pace as earlier.

RBI in discussion with industry bodies ahead of finalising digital lending guidelines

After the associations submit their responses, the RBI is likely to share its final views on key norms with the industry before making the guidelines public

RBI Policy: Digital lending guidelines likely to be issued in 2 months, says Governor Shaktikanta Das

The RBI is working to plug the KYC loopholes after customers complained of loans being sanctioned to unknown individuals using their PAN card through Indiabulls Dhani