Kiwi, a startup that issues RuPay credit cards in partnership with banks, raises $24 million

Fintech startup Kiwi has raised $24 million in a funding round led by Singapore-based Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, with participation from existing backers Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners and Omidyar Network.

Advertisment

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the fresh capital to launch credit lines on the UPI within the next six months, a product that has been in development since the Reserve Bank of India approved it in September 2023. The new offering will allow users to access pre-approved credit limits directly through their UPI-enabled savings accounts.

Founded in 2022 by former bankers Anup Agarwal, Siddharth Mehta and Mohit Bedi, Kiwi currently issues RuPay credit cards in partnership with Yes Bank and AU Small Finance Bank. The cards are linked to UPI, enabling consumers to pay merchants directly via India’s most widely used retail payment system.

Since its launch in 2023, the platform has issued more than 200,000 RuPay credit cards and now processes over five million merchant transactions each month across 600 cities.

The startup said it is also in talks with additional banks to expand its product offerings. Beyond credit lines, it plans to roll out features such as add-ons for credit cards and EMI options on UPI. By 2027, Kiwi aims to issue one million RuPay credit cards. The financing marks Kiwi’s third equity round, bringing its total raised to $43 million. 

The funding comes at a time when India’s digital payments ecosystem is undergoing a shift. UPI, which now records around 19 billion transactions each month, has more than 350 million unique users, far surpassing the country’s credit card base.