← State of Embedded Finance 2026

Cred

“Can a rewards-driven credit card bill payment app become India's financial OS for the affluent creditworthy?”

Founded2018
HQBangalore, Karnataka, India
FoundersKunal Shah
Total raised~$1B+ (cumulative through 2022)
Latest roundSeries F / secondary (2022-2023)
Valuation$6.4B (2022)
IndustryFintech / Consumer banking
The story

Founded 2018 as a reward-driven credit card bill payment app for India's high-credit-score consumers. Expanded into UPI payments (TPAP), e-commerce checkout (CRED Pay), and lending via partner banks/NBFCs (CRED Cash). Acquired its own NBFC license via Parfait/Newtap Finance to move from pure distribution to a balance-sheet lender. Continues to position itself as a premium members-only club rather than a mass-market neobank.

Last 12 months
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Product timeline
2018
Founded by Kunal Shah as a credit card bill payment rewards app· launch
2021
Raised Series D at $2.2B valuation; launched CRED Pay and CRED Cash (lending)· lending
2021
Acquired Happay (expense management) and HipBar (liquor delivery / Dreampurse wallet)· acquisition
2022
Acquired CreditVidya (alternate credit scoring); valued at $6.4B· acquisition
2022
Launched CRED UPI and scan & pay; became RBI-approved Third Party Application Provider (TPAP)· banking
2023
Acquired Parfait Finance (renamed Newtap Finance) to bring lending in-house via own NBFC· lending
2024
Launched CRED Garage (vehicle management), CRED Mint (P2P investing via Liquiloans), CRED Money· launch
Regulated entities
NBFC (via subsidiary)
India (RBI)
Newtap Finance Private Limited (formerly Parfait Finance and Investments)
The stack
Payments / PSP
CRED Pay (self-operated)UPI via TPAP (self-operated)
Lending
Newtap Finance Private Limited (in-house NBFC)CRED CashCRED Cash+CRED Mint
Accounting gap: none