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    Fintech unicorn Slice wants to diversify beyond its credit card offering

    Synopsis

    Along with diversification into UPI, Slice will also push direct merchant checkouts as well as NFC- based payments ( contactless payments) on its app to simplify user experience, Bajaj said in an interaction with ETtech.

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    Bengaluru: Fintech unicorn Slice is shifting its focus to unified payments interface (UPI) and other payment methods on its app, as it looks to diversify from just being a card-based credit line business, according to company founder and chief executive Rajan Bajaj.

    Along with diversification into UPI, Slice will also push direct merchant checkouts as well as NFC- based payments ( contactless payments) on its app to simplify user experience, Bajaj said in an interaction with ETtech.

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    The plan is to cater to as many new customers, especially those on the waitlist and provide newer offerings to them. These are people who have been kept out of the credit-card user list.

    At present, Slice claims to have close to 10 million waitlisted customers on its platform.

    While, for now the focus is on consumer payments it will look to also launch merchant-related payment services in the near term.

    Founded in 2016, Slice focuses on new-age millennials and Gen Z customers, who have largely been refused credit cards due to inadequate credit scores. “ While we will continue to be selective in giving out credit cards, we want our larger base of waitlisted customers to have the same experience as our credit users on the app. We are achieving profitability in our credit card vertical and will use the cash flows to grow in payments,” said Bajaj to ET.

    “The idea is to make the payment experience differentiated by helping the user not go through multiple steps or have any advertisements on the app,” Bajaj added.

    This comes even as regulatory uncertainty continues for new-age card-based credit fintechs with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) consulting players and the wider industry to understand the space and create operating guidelines them.

    However, Bajaj in an interaction said that the decision to diversify into UPI payments was something the company was planning since 2021, before the regulatory uncertainty set in.

    While Bajaj did not disclose absolute numbers, he added that credit card issuance on the platform is growing at 10%-15% on a monthly basis.

    In November, last year, Slice raised $220 million in funding led by New York-based investment firms Tiger Global and Insight Partners, valuing the startup at $1 billion.

    It actively competes with the likes of OneCard and Uni, which are in midst of fundraising talks, as competition in the sector heats up.
    The Economic Times

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