Flipkart arm offers 2-min loans

1.5 million kirana stores to benefit

Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of the Flipkart group, has tied up with banks and fintech institutions to provide credit to over 1.5 million kiranas and retailers in just two minutes.

The programme aims to help kiranas manage their working capital requirements and grow business.

These offerings, including ‘Easy Credit’ in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank, are in line with a series of initiatives undertaken to solve pain points of kiranas in India.

The loans will be offered at zero cost, through end-to-end digital onboarding. “The credit line will range from ~5,000 to ~2 lakh with an interest-free period of up to 14 days. Kiranas can also avail of the benefits of flexible repayment options through cash and online transfers as well as instant refunds in case of order cancellation. They can seamlessly keep a tab on their credit balance and bills,” the firm said.

“Our key goal is to make business easier for kiranas and retailers and boost their growth journey,” said Adarsh Menon, senior vice-president and head of Flipkart Wholesale.

Flipkart Wholesale serves over 1.5 million members across the country, which include kiranas and retailers; hotels, restaurants and cafeterias; and offices and institutions.

Amit Kumar, head-retail liabilities and branch banking at IDFC FIRST Bank, said: “As a bank with a digital-first approach and focus on serving the retail ecosystem, we are keen to contribute to the growth of this segment.”

With the change in consumer behaviour after the Covid-19 pandemic, offline retail is becoming the new battleground for e-commerce giants.

This year, Amazon Pay said that it will facilitate small loans and insurance for kiranas. The company had said it has empowered over 5 million neighbourhood stores and businesses with its digital payments infrastructure.

Bengaluru-based B2B ecommerce start-up Udaan is eyeing to tap a $100-billion opportunity in the next few years. It has built scale and created logistics and lending capabilities such as Udaanexpress and Udaancapital. Udaancapital has grown its assets under management 30 times, while the credit lines have grown 40 times over the last 2 years.