In the context of NBFCs and FinTech disruption in India, how does Credifin differentiate itself from both traditional banks and emerging digital lenders?
Credifin is built on a phygital model that combines the efficiency of FinTech with the judgement and empathy of on-ground credit teams. The term “FinTech” is often misunderstood as a replacement for human intervention. For us, it means deploying technology intelligently to make credit decisions faster, safer, and more scalable, without losing sight of the nuances that define last-mile lending in India.
While our proprietary platform manages most operational workflows and transactions, the credit evaluation itself is handled by trained field managers. Technology arms them with richer datasets and analytics, but we deliberately avoid fully automated credit approvals, especially for segments where formal data is scarce and API-based information is incomplete. In many of the markets we serve, behavioural insight, field verification, and contextual judgement are indispensable.
Our customers are typically first-time borrowers, often uneducated and unfamiliar with formal finance. So, our role extends beyond lending. We also act as financial advisors. Take our e-rickshaw loans: many customers assume an e-rickshaw will automatically uplift their income, but that is not always true. A candid, human conversation is essential to help them understand viability, expenses, and long-term implications.
At the same time, scale is impossible without technology. We process nearly 10,000 applications across 200+ locations every month. High-quality tech is what allows us to maintain speed, consistency, and cost efficiency, while the human layer ensures responsible lending tailored to real-life needs.
How do you manage servicing and collections in small towns where infrastructure may be weaker?
Our collections model is fully digital from day one. During disbursement itself, customers are trained on digital repayment methods, and we mandate 100% e-NACH registration, which already covers about half of our collections.
For the remaining customers, we have built industry-leading tools that provide both convenience and security. Each customer receives a personalised static QR code linked directly to their loan account. More importantly, we have introduced a unique EMI Card, think of it as the reverse of a debit card. To pay an EMI, the customer simply taps the card on their mobile phone and completes the transaction.
This innovation also protects customers against rising fraud from fake collection calls. If a customer doubts the authenticity of a reminder call, our executive simply tells them to tap their EMI Card and pay directly: no links, no sharing OTPs, no risk.
Today, nearly 90% of our collections are digital. Even the residual cash collections are executed with OTP verification and instant digital receipts. This ensures transparency, protects customers, and gradually nudges them toward fully digital repayment behaviour.
Many NBFCs struggle with operational efficiency as they scale. What bottlenecks has Credifin overcome?
The biggest bottleneck for fast-scaling NBFCs is keeping technology aligned with business growth. Because we built our platform in-house from the beginning, our tech evolves in real time with operational needs. This has allowed us to scale faster than many peers.
We operate with two technology teams: one dedicated to immediate requirements of customers and internal users, and another focused-on future-ready architecture, integrations, and capabilities. By the time the business requires a new tool or workflow, it is usually already developed and tested.
AI-enabled development has accelerated this even further. Today, almost 60% of our code is AI-generated, and our teams focus on deployment, optimisation, and experience design. From underwriting dashboards to customer-facing interfaces, AI has allowed us to roll out features at a pace that would have been impossible earlier.
Lending is fundamentally a business of monitoring and control. Our in-house tech ensures both, while giving us full flexibility to adapt to changing market realities.
Rural and semi-urban customers often face credit hesitancy. How does Credifin build trust in such markets?
Trust in underserved markets comes from two things: understanding the customer’s real financial situation, and demonstrating that the loan will genuinely improve their life.
We position ourselves as cash-flow lenders, not collateral-driven lenders. While collateral has its place, we focus more on assessing the customer’s past, present, and future earning potential. For example, in an e-rickshaw loan, we do not stop at estimating future income: we compare it with their past income. In many cases, we have seen that a customer’s previous occupation would have earned them more. In such scenarios, we reject the loan and explain why it may not serve them well.
This advisory mindset builds credibility. When customers see that we decline loans that do not benefit them, they trust us more with the loans that do. Our philosophy is simple: if the loan leads to better income or financial stability, defaults are rare. But if it strains the customer, default risk rises sharply. Understanding this balance is the foundation of our risk culture.
How do you see regulatory expectations evolving for NBFCs, especially around governance, risk, and reporting?
Regulatory expectations are rising across the board: banks and NBFCs of all sizes are being held to higher standards of governance, risk management, and reporting. We welcome this shift. Strong regulation not only protects customers and the financial system but also filters out players whose practices are not aligned with ethical lending.
Finance is ultimately a public trust business. Whether it is bank deposits or NBFC borrowings, the money we lend is public money. As institutions scale, the proportion of promoter capital decreases and the responsibility to protect public funds increases. Enhanced governance and reporting ensure that institutions grow responsibly and stay accountable to all stakeholders.
For us, higher regulatory scrutiny is not a burden: it is a framework that ensures the long-term sustainability of the industry and strengthens our own internal systems.
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