New Delhi: It has appointed former FlexiLoans co-founder Kothari to spearhead the financial technology company in India. Pepper Money India plans to launch three-to-five co-branded cards in the coming two years, chief executive officer and founding member Abhishek Kothari told while having an interaction.
The company will arrange co-branding with banks for co-branded credit and prepaid cards. But Kothari clarified that the cards would not be linked to pre-approved credit lines.
“The tier-2 market has many layers to it. The tier-2 young professional will operate very differently from a tier-2 businessman. I think we will stay within the range of three-to-five cards for the next two years,” he said.
On Monday, global consumer finance company Pepper Group announced that it would invest $150 million over the next four years to establish a financial technology company in India under the Pepper Money brand.
Pepper Group has $21 billion in assets under management (AUM) of self-generated loans through the Pepper Money brand. It has a further $55 billion in third-party loan assets through its Pepper Advantage brand. “With an existing presence across Australia, the UK, Europe, South Korea, Japan and South-East Asia, the launch of Pepper Money India signifies a long-term commitment to the Indian market,” the company said in a press release.
It has appointed former FlexiLoans co-founder Kothari to spearhead the financial technology company in India. With plans to launch in August, Pepper Money India will target 150 million households in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The company plans to hire a team of over 200 members. While Pepper Money India primarily focuses on co-branded cards, it will also offer personal loans. The average tenure of these loans will be 12-18 months, and the ticket size will be Rs 75,000-100,000.
“We will have to tailor the personal loans to the tier-2 segment. We have to be synonymous with responsible lending in this market. We as a group believe that the product should be simple to understand and should create positive behaviour in the customer,” Kothari said. “We are not in a rush. My rush is not to create the largest AUM in the shortest period. My rush is to understand the customer as much as possible to build a good, responsible lending business in the country.”
