CRED's biometric UPI feature nears 10M users
What's the story
CRED, a fintech start-up founded by Kunal Shah, is on the verge of hitting a major milestone with its biometric authentication feature for UPI payments. The company introduced this innovative feature in March, allowing users to authenticate transactions using their fingerprint or facial recognition instead of entering a PIN. According to an internal message from Shah to employees, CRED is nearing 10 million users for this feature.
Market response
Competitors join the biometric payment trend
CRED's biometric UPI feature has drawn the attention of other players in the market. PhonePe and Amazon Pay, two major fintech companies, have also launched similar features. This trend indicates that biometrics are quickly becoming a standard for secure and speedy payments. The growth of this feature is part of CRED's strategy to expand its payment products beyond just credit card bill payments.
Growth metrics
CRED's user growth in FY25
As of June 2024, CRED had around 13 million monthly active users (MAUs). The company's monthly transacting users (MTUs) also witnessed a significant increase of 14.5%, reaching 12.6 million in FY25. This growth comes as part of the company's efforts to broaden its payment offerings and improve user experience.
Financial performance
Surge in transaction frequency and total payment value
CRED's latest FY25 update shows a significant increase in its payment stack. The total payment value surged to ₹8.5 trillion, while the transaction frequency per user per month increased by 34% to 14.4 transactions. This growth indicates the company's expanding footprint in the fintech space and its successful efforts at improving user engagement with its services.
Financial report
Operating revenue and loss for CREDAI in FY25
In FY25, CRED reported an operating revenue of ₹2,735 crore, a 16% year-on-year (YoY) increase. However, the company also posted an operating loss of ₹298 crore during this period. Despite the losses, the company's financial performance shows a positive growth trajectory in terms of revenue generation and user engagement with its services.
Investment talks
Meta explores investment options in CRED
CRED is also back in the fundraising spotlight, with Meta reportedly considering an investment at a $4 billion valuation. This would be a significant jump from CRED's marked-down $3.5 billion price tag in 2025 but still below its last major round valuation of $6.4 billion in 2022. The talks are still ongoing, with Meta also considering other options such as a full acquisition of the company.