Truecaller to roll out credit facility up to Rs 3 lakh soon

Swedish caller identification app Truecaller is almost all set to make an entry in India's fintech market with credit business.

The company is planning to roll out its credit feature in over 20 cities in early next year.

Users when they experience a rise in expense, they look for credit facilities and normally they do not have access to formal ways of credit, Sony Joy, head of payments and financial services of Truecaller, told Mint.

He further said that the credit feature would not be solely dependent on the credit history of users. The financial score will be based on transactions done through the user bank account, added Joy.

It plans to offer an amount ranging from Rs 10k to Rs 3L for a period of 3 months to 2 years. Anything between 16-26 per cent would be charged, depending on the amount and period of repayment. The credit offer would be a function of the available income of users.

Users will have to upload a single identity document to avail the facility. Meanwhile, the company has sought clearance from the regulators on the usage of Aadhaar based e-KYC.

Earlier in September, SC had barred private companies from using Aadhaar data for authenticating customers.

The move was expected ever since Truecaller had acquired payment startup Chillr, which allows users to transfer money to any contact in their phone book, mobile recharge, DTH TV subscription, and data cards, six months ago.

Apart from looking to increase mobile payment adoption amongst users, the company is also planning to offer bill payment option via the Truecaller app.

With a user base of 150 million and 300 partners in India and 250 million globally, Truecaller is considered the fourth most used app after WhatsApp, Facebook, and Facebook Messenger, across Android and iOS devices.

The caller identification app claims to have about 40 per cent users from teir2-3 cities.

Digital lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) can grow up to $100 billion by 2023, according to a report by Omidyar and the Boston Consulting Group.

In the last few years, several digital lending platforms such as Telr, Kissht, Faircent, CASHe, Capital Float and Faircent have come up to seize the potential market of this space.

Besides, digital payments players Paytm and Mobikwik also offer instant credit option.