Virtual credit card platform Kiwi raises $13 Mn led by Omidyar

Virtual credit card platform Kiwi has raised $13 million in a Series A round led by Omidyar Network India with participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners. This is the second funding round for the Mumbai-based startup in 2023. Back in May, Nexus and Stellaris Venture led Kiwi’s $6 million worth maiden funding.

In September, Entrackr exclusively reported about Kiwi's upcoming financing round. While Kiwi did not disclose its valuation, Entrackr sources had said it will be valued at around $70-80 million post Series A.

Kiwi plans to deploy the fresh proceeds towards launching new products over the next year including no-cost equated monthly installments (EMI) on UPI, and starting credit line on UPI, allowed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) earlier this year. It has partnered with Axis Bank and plans to collaborate with two large banks in the next six months.

Kiwi launched its all-in-one credit on UPI solution for customers which allows customers to experience credit on UPI by issuing Rupay cards in partnership with banks. The app lets users block cards, increase limits, and make card payments while rewarding them for every transaction.

Kiwi was founded by Siddharth Mehta, Mohit Bedi and Anup Agarwal. In February, Mehta resigned from the position of chief executive at FreeCharge to launch his own startup.

Since its launch, Kiwi claims to have issued 25,000 virtual credit cards, with average monthly spending of about Rs 22,000 per user. As per Mehta, the users are currently making at least 17-18 transactions per month.

The firm has set a target to provide access to credit on UPI for 500,000 users by 2024.

Kiwi is one of the few startups that raised two funding rounds in 2023. Previously, insurance company InsuranceDekho and fashion startup Purple Style Labs closed their two financing rounds this year.