How does KredX’s model of supply chain finance complement or compete with traditional bank lending in India?
We don’t compete with banks but collaborate with them. Our TReDS platform- Domestic Trade Exchange (DTX) functions like an exchange. We currently have 50+ banks on board, which allows MSMEs to access funds faster, more efficiently, and more transparently.
In a traditional setup, an MSME may approach four or five banks, receive one or two offers, and accept a fixed rate. On TReDS, once an MSME uploads an invoice approved by the buyer, all participating banks can bid for it, similar to a stock exchange. This competitive bidding drives rates lower. For instance, if one bank offers 8 per cent, another may reduce it to 7.5 per cent, and yet another to 7 per cent. As a result, MSMEs get access to the cheapest capital in the market, and they’re not tied to a single bank line of credit for a year. Each invoice can attract the best available rate.
The process is fully transparent, with all banks, NBFCs, and factors participating under RBI regulations. For banks, the benefit is equally strong: there’s no cost of acquisition, underwriting, or operations, costs that usually add up to 1–2 per cent. Since those expenses are eliminated, banks can pass the savings to MSMEs and build higher volumes effortlessly. That’s why TReDS today processes around Rs 30,000–35,000 crore every month.
What is KredX’s USP compared to its competitors in the industry?
First, we’re an RBI-regulated platform, and there’s strong government push for adoption, companies with turnover above Rs 250 crore are mandated to register on TReDS. This ensures compliance for buyers, sellers, and banks.
Second, unlike one-to-one banking relationships, KredX enables a many-to-many model, ensuring complete transparency and smoother operations. We directly settle funds between banks, MSMEs, and buyers, making it more like a streamlined B2B payments system.
Third, speed is critical. Invoices are perishable, if payment is delayed, the opportunity is lost. With KredX, an MSME can get funds within 24 hours, unlike the lengthy documentation process at traditional banks.
Finally, we offer deep integration. Our system can connect with buyer ERPs and bank CMS platforms, enabling fully automated, touch-free disbursements at scale, say, Rs 20,000 crore, without a single analyst involved. This reduces costs dramatically while improving speed and transparency.
What are the regulatory challenges for supply chain finance in India, and how does KredX ensure compliance?
KredX operates as an RBI-regulated platform, so compliance is central to what we do. We conduct full KYC checks for buyers, sellers, and financiers, along with mandatory screenings such as anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. We’re integrated with national databases like SARFAESI to ensure the same invoice cannot be discounted multiple times.
I don’t view compliance as a burden, it’s simply the right way to build something sustainable and long-term. Supply chain finance is naturally complex because supply chains themselves are complicated. Payments are often delayed until the final product is sold to the end consumer, and disputes over quality, offsets, or credit notes can cause further delays. With multiple invoices, POs, GRNs, and reconciliations in play, the process can be messy.
That’s where a regulated platform like ours helps. By ensuring transparency and automating compliance, we remove friction from the system. Instead of suppliers chasing payments with seasonal or personal pressures, invoices can simply be discounted, and funds flow quickly. This reduces strain on businesses and smoothens the entire supply chain.
How does KredX integrate with UPI and India’s new digital public infrastructure for payments?
Think of TReDS platform, Domestic Trade Exchange (DTX), as a UPI-like system for B2B payments. The concept is similar, but the scale is different. UPI is built for small, real-time retail payments, like buying tea. In supply chain finance, we’re talking about invoices worth lakhs or even crores, which UPI isn’t designed to handle.
KredX provides the ecosystem to make these large-value B2B payments smooth, transparent, and efficient, similar in spirit to UPI but tailored to businesses. Unlike consumer payments where gratification is instant, B2B transactions involve multiple stakeholders and delayed consumption, which adds complexity.
Today, TReDS platforms collectively process around Rs 35,000 crore every month, and we’re only just getting started. With continued adoption, the volumes could one day rival UPI itself in India’s financial ecosystem.
KredX’s GTX platform focuses on global trade. How are you tackling issues like currency volatility and sanctions compliance?
GTX is our supply chain finance platform dedicated to cross-border trade. The key difference from DTX (domestic trade exchange) is that GTX settles transactions directly in the invoice currency. So, if an invoice is raised in dollars, the payment is also made in dollars, there’s no conversion to INR. That means currency volatility isn’t a platform concern; it’s naturally managed between the exporter and importer.
The real benefit is speed. Traditionally, an exporter would raise a $100,000 invoice and wait 90 days for payment, exposed to currency swings the entire time.
With GTX, they can raise an invoice today and receive the funds almost immediately. This eliminates the need for costly hedging, which could otherwise consume 4–5 per cent of the transaction value. In effect, exporters and importers are protected from volatility simply by accessing early payments through the platform.
How does KredX integrate with enterprise or corporate ERP/finance systems for BFSI clients to automate order-to-cash and payables processes?
Our strength lies in deep integration through our proprietary Cash Management System (CMS). It covers accounts payable and receivable, two-way and three-way matching (PO, invoice, GRN), reconciliation, and cash collections. CMS integrates seamlessly with leading ERPs like SAP and Oracle, or virtually any global ERP, using APIs.
Once integrated, the entire data flow becomes touchless, no manual errors, no overhead, and complete automation. On the banking side, our APIs connect directly with bank CMS systems to exchange bidding information, UTRs, transaction details, and invoices in real time. This makes the whole process, from invoice discounting to settlement, fast, transparent, and error-free.
How does the KredX platform help financial institutions and banks expand into underserved segments like MSMEs?
Traditionally, MSMEs in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities relied on local banks for working capital. These banks often demanded heavy collateral, homes, cars, or other assets and charged higher rates. Through KredX, MSMEs supplying to large buyers can access financing without collateral and at the lowest rates, simply by registering on the platform.
For banks, this opens massive opportunities. A small finance bank focused only in the South can now discount invoices of MSME suppliers in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, or the Northeast, regions where they have no physical presence. Export clusters like Tirupur or Ludhiana also become accessible. Effectively, banks can reach every MSME supplier or exporter in India, regardless of geography, with zero cost of acquisition, zero cost of underwriting, and zero operational overhead.
MSMEs, in turn, gain access to all banks, NBFCs, and SFBs through a single platform, even institutions they may never have heard of. It democratises access to capital while helping financial institutions meet their lending requirements and expand their reach far beyond their branch networks.
With the integration of next-gen technologies in the BFSI sector, how is digital transformation helping or challenging KredX’s growth?
Digital transformation is largely helping us. AI, for example, has been transformative—not only for customer support but also for coding. My team uses tools like Copilot extensively, which speeds up product development and reduces time-to-market. AI also allows us to serve more customers efficiently, automate manual processes, and lower acquisition costs.
Beyond AI, India’s digital infrastructure has been critical. Systems like NACH for automated fund transfers, CKYC for faster onboarding, SARFAESI for charge creation, and Aadhaar verification have streamlined what used to be slow, document-heavy processes. Much of this now happens via APIs, making KYC, compliance, and fund flows faster and more reliable.
Where do you see KredX growing in the next three to five years, and are there any services or solutions we can expect by the end of this year?
The biggest opportunities for us lie in both domestic and cross-border trade. With GST rationalisation and ongoing tariff wars, India is pushing deeper into exports while domestic consumption continues to rise. That creates massive potential for TReDS in B2B transactions and for GTX in global trade. For example, if exports shift from the US to Latin America, KredX can follow that shift and build network effects by attracting both exporters and new importers to our platform.
We often describe TReDS as a “B2B UPI.” Like UPI, it’s becoming commoditised—banks, buyers, and sellers are all there. The real differentiator now is technology: how easy, seamless, and efficient the platform is. That’s why we’re doubling down on tech innovation. For instance, we’re exploring integrations with GST systems so invoices on our platform can be GST-verified in real time. This helps buyers avoid risks like dealing with invoices where GST was charged but never deposited, blocking input credit.
Similarly, on GTX, we’re looking at digitising freight contracts and making global trade flows easier to match and manage. We do have some innovative products in the pipeline, but most of those will be launched next year. For now, the focus remains on strengthening technology, transparency, and usability across our platforms.
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