CRED Raises $81 Mn In Series C Funding Round The startup announces ESOP buyback worth $1.2 million

Bengaluru-based credit card repayment platform CRED on Monday announced to have raised $81 million in its Series C funding round at a post-money valuation of $806 million led by partners of DST Global, along with Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and General Catalyst. Hedge fund Coatue Management and Times Internet vice-chairman Satyan Gajwani also participated in this round.

In the process, existing and former employees have liquidated their employee stock ownership plan (ESOPs), collectively worth $1.2 million.

The ESOP buyback was completed on 1 January, 2021. This is the first ESOP liquidity program initiated by the company. Employees who hold vested stocks were eligible to sell up to 50 per cent of their vested ESOP shares in the company.

"As we raise funds to support our next phase of growth, it's important to acknowledge the role that employees have played in our success," said Kunal Shah, founder, CRED.

The company claims that in two years, its community has grown to over 5.9 million high-trust individuals with a median credit score of 830.

"We are committed to enabling wealth-creation opportunities for them and have allocated 10 per cent of our cap table allocated for ESOPs even at the Series C stage. I am grateful for their conviction, as well as that of our investors, and am focused on creating value for them as the product and business evolve," Shah added.

The establishment processes 20 per cent of all credit card bill payments in India. Over 35 per cent of premium credit cardholders in India are on the platform, with members spending twofold of the average credit card user in India.

The recently launched CRED Pay offering takes its experience to platforms of online merchants, who offer instant, one-click credit card payments for its members, said a statement released by the two-year-old startup.