Flipkart Confirms Rollout of Digitally Enabled Personal Loan Offering

Flipkart has partnered with Axis Bank to launch a digitally enabled personal loan offering.

With this personal loan offering, the Indian eCommerce marketplace’s customers can get loan approval on Flipkart within 30 seconds and flexible repayment cycles ranging from six months to 36 months, the companies said in a Friday (July 7) press release.

“Our focus is to enable credit and enhance purchasing power by granting access to liquidity precisely when needed,” Dheeraj Aneja, senior vice president of FinTech and Payments Group at Flipkart, said in the release. “These financial solutions cater to the evolving demands of consumers, offering greater flexibility and convenience throughout their purchasing journeys.”

The Friday press release confirmed a Monday (July 3) report by Indian news outlet The Arc that Walmart-owned Flipkart would be entering the lending sector as it battles Amazon for India’s consumers.

According to The Arc, many Indian startups offer personal loans, but Flipkart could have an edge in that it has a user base of more than 300 million people, as well as all their shopping data.

By leveraging the potential of digital lending, the new partnership of Flipkart and Axis Bank offers consumers competitive loan options and allows them to select the loan amount and repayment method after Axis Bank has approved their loan limit, according to the Friday press release.

The new personal loans join the buy now, pay later (BNPL), product financing, seller financing, credit cards, and other credit offerings and financial solutions Flipkart has added, the release said.

“In this endeavor, we are pleased to partner with Flipkart to provide unparalleled lending solutions to a wider spectrum of customers offering customized solutions that cater to the specific needs of users,” Sameer Shetty, president and head of digital business and transformation at Axis Bank, said in the release. “Together, we are set to bring forth a new era of convenience and accessibility for customers.”

Flipkart’s move comes at a time when Amazon intends to invest $26 billion in India by 2030.

The company made that announcement after CEO Andy Jassy met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the United States.