Bengaluru-based fintech startup Freo plans to increase its user base to 10 million by 2025, according to chief finance officer Ankur Maheshwari. The CFO expressed confidence in Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and recently announced the introduction of the savings product ‘Freo Save’ in collaboration with Equitas Small Finance Bank, highlighting that these two products will account for two-thirds of customer growth.
“Two third of our customers’ growth will come from payment products (BNPL) and savings products, remaining growth from core credit and other products,” Maheshwari said.
The CFO emphasised recent industry trends that demonstrate how popular saving and BNPL products are with consumers.
“We are adding 60,000 customers in our pay later product every month, our recently launched saving product will have a high positive impact on the customer base,” the CFO added.
Based on overall growth trends across all products, the CFO affirms that Freo will be able to reach its goal of two million customers by December 2022.
According to the CFO, their business would not be significantly impacted by the recent 50 basis point increase in the repo rate. Although there will be a slight increase in interest rates, the demand for personal unsecured credit won’t be affected given the types of customers we serve, he said.
The CFO said that while all businesses are undoubtedly impacted by inflation, the impact can be reduced by offering the appropriate product at the right time. Products like BNPL are in high demand because consumers do not have to pay out of their own pockets at a time when inflation is at an all-time high.
The CFO stated that effective regulation and a specific governing framework are necessary for the balanced growth of the BNPL Model. On the compliance front, the finance veteran sought more clarity from regulators. He applauded the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to let Rupay credit card payments over UPI and noted that this would broaden the application of digital payments.
