MoneyTap Raises Rs 500 Cr in Funding led by Aquiline Technology, RTP Global

Consumer lending platform MoneyTap on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 500 crore in a funding round led by global funds like Aquiline Technology Growth and RTP Global.

The series-B funding round was a mix of equity and debt and saw participation from existing investors like Sequoia India, Prime Venture Partners and MegaDelta, MoneyTap said in a release.

The funding will aid in creating a loan book of Rs 5,000 crore over the next 12-18 months, it said.

Debt capital was secured from players like Vivriti Capital, Credit Saison and others in the form of co-lending and credit lines. The company had previously raised a total of USD 12.3 million.

MoneyTap will use the funds to accelerate its growth trajectory, invest further in technology, data science, and launch its NBFC operations, it said.

The company further said there are plans to significantly expand its geographical footprint from 60 to 200 Indian cities, bringing its unique credit line value proposition to the masses.

"We will use this funding to scale our business, innovate with data-backed lending models and continue to hire aggressively. We will also use the funds to expand our credit offerings via our own NBFC," MoneyTap Co-founder Anuj Kacker said.

MoneyTap was commercially launched in September 2016 by Bala Parthasarathy, Anuj Kacker and Kunal Varma. PTI KPM

MoneyTap’s Personal Line of Credit: Understanding the Concept of a Credit Line

With the growing push for a ‘cashless economy’ as well as increased reliance on credit cards and other forms of personal credit, the fintech sector in India is booming. Banks and other financial institutions have already jumped on the bandwagon with online and app-based lending, but people looking for an instant loan still have limited options.

To provide for this need, many startups are creating financial products tailor-made for the Indian consumer. Among the first to offer a personal line of credit is MoneyTap, an innovative app that helps loan-seekers in the country access a credit line through their phones anytime and anywhere.

What is a Line of Credit?

The concept of a credit line isn’t too different from personal loans and credit cards. It’s basically a financial arrangement between you and a lending institution, which provides you with a loan that you can access at any time. You can borrow funds up to a maximum limit, and repay them according to the agreement made with the provider.

Like a credit card, repayments will recharge the available limit in credit lines, but interest rates are lower. And, unlike a personal loan, you only pay interest on the amount you use.

What are the Different Types of Credit Lines?

Here’s an overview of various lines of credit and how they work:

1. Secured Line of Credit – This type of credit line depends upon collateral backing, where you provide an asset as security against the loan amount. If you do not make loan repayments on time, the lender can seize this collateral and liquidate it to recover their debt.


2. Unsecured Line of Credit – This revolving line of credit doesn’t rely on collateral backing. Financial institutions charge different interest rates for these credit lines. Approval, interest rates and loan limits are usually based on factors such as income, age and CIBIL score.


3. Personal Line of Credit – This can be either a secured or unsecured credit line that is used for immediate or long-term personal needs, such as weddings, medical expenses, travel and major purchases. You don’t need to disclose what the line of credit will be used for.


4. Business Line of Credit – This type of credit line can be either secured or unsecured, and is provided to business owners and self-employed individuals for ongoing business expenses. It can help you maintain good cash flow and ensure vendor payments are made on time.


5. Specific Purpose Line of Credit – This is a line of credit provided for specific purposes, such as home loan repayments, renovations, repairs, etc. Generally, this type of credit line is secured with collateral such as a property and needs to be repaid within a fixed timeframe.

What Are the Features of MoneyTap’s Personal Line of Credit?

MoneyTap, the first app-based personal credit line offered in India, is rather aptly called a ‘Personal Loan 2.0’. Here’s why:

• It’s super-flexible. You can borrow as little as ₹ 3,000 all the way up to your maximum available limit, of up to ₹ 35 Lakh at any time.


• It’s quite affordable. You only pay interest on the funds used, not the entire approved amount. No usage, no interest.


• It’s totally fuss-free. There is no long or complicated approval process, and you don’t need to provide a specific purpose either.


• It’s virtually no-risk. You can choose a repayment term that works best for you, with no collateral or guarantors involved.


• It’s always with you. The credit line is available for life, and every repayment recharges the limit available for future use.


• It’s penalty-free. Making early payments or even paying off the full amount you have used will not incur fees or charges.


• It’s feature-loaded. Not only do you get instant credit, but also a credit card that offers various rewards and discounts.

It may have been a long time coming, but an app-based line of credit is just what we needed. Quick, incredibly flexible and packed with extra benefits, MoneyTap is the end of your financial worries! Download the MoneyTap app now and get approved in just 4-minutes.

Fintech Startup MoneyTap Raises $12.3M from Sequoia India, NEA & Prime Venture Partners

MoneyTap has raised a total of $12.3 million in funding to drive the continued expansion of its app-based consumer credit line in India. The investment was led by Sequoia India and supported by existing investors, NEA and Prime Venture Partners. As a testament to its continued popularity among its users, MoneyTap is on target to issue credit lines worth INR 300 crores by the end of the current fiscal year. With this fresh funding, MoneyTap plans to solidify its leadership position by improving credit accessibility for other segments of customers, partnering with 6 other Banks and NBFCs and expanding to 50 cities in India by the end of 2017.

Since its launch in September 2016, India’s first app-based consumer credit line has attracted over three hundred thousand (300k) users. The majority of users have a monthly income of INR 30,000-40,000 and are aged between 28-32 years.

The Indian consumer finance market is estimated to grow at a compounded growth rate of 18 percent to become a $1.2 trillion opportunity by 2020. Reports also suggest that it is also one of the most underpenetrated markets for lending, with close to 70% of the population being underserved by institutional lenders. Penetration of unsecured personal loans has been extremely poor in India with the organized credit presence at around 1% in the country. According to RBI data of August 2016, in a country of 1.2 billion Indians, only 26.4 million have credit cards. Comparatively, there are about 600 million active mobile phones in India and mobile banking transactions rose from Rs 4,185 billion in 2012 to Rs 5,243 billion in October 2016. All this data points out to the fact that consumer-lending startups such as MoneyTap, supported by financial institutions, can serve a huge creditworthy but financially excluded customer base previously overlooked by the lending businesses.

MoneyTap is available on Android Playstore (http://bit.ly/moneytap) and is targeted at salaried individuals and self-employed professionals earning more than INR 20,000 per month. MoneyTap evaluates the user’s eligibility in less than 4 minutes after which it provides an instant, real-time decision on the application along with the amount they are eligible for. Using the credit line, consumers can choose to borrow as little as INR 3000 or as much as INR 5 lakhs or up to their maximum eligibility limit. Customers can decide their own EMI plans with flexible payback periods ranging from 2 months to 3 years. Interest is paid only on the amount borrowed and rates can be as low as 1.25% per month. If the user does not borrow any amount, then no interest needs to be paid. The credit limit also gets topped up once EMIs are paid back. MoneyTap along with RBL Bank is able to provide its customers, instant decisions and instant access to money, 24/7. All financial transactions such as billing and repayment are directly dealt with the bank but through the MoneyTap App using secure APIs, thus ensuring 100% secure transactions.

Bala Parthasarathy, Co-founder, MoneyTap said, “These are exciting times at MoneyTap. We deeply believe that the rapidly growing middle-income group in India is largely underserved by financial institutions. They are app-savvy and very demanding. We have been fortunate to partner with Sequoia, NEA & Prime - all of whom are top tier investors with deep fintech and operational expertise to take us to the next level.”