Banking On Credit Propositions According to the trio, technology needs to be adaptive, flexible and modular for quick modification. BankBazaar boasts of being able to integrate any new partner onto their automated and modular system within a span of two weeks.

Deemed the world's first neutral online platform, which enables people to compare and choose from various financial products, BankBazaar was established in 2008 by Adhil Shetty, Arjun Shetty, and Rati Shetty. The fintech company grew more robust over a decade; however, the 2020 pandemic led the company to develop new propositions for its existing customers and to attract potential ones.

"The pandemic also fast-tracked credit cards from being an aspirational product to an essential payment tool, especially for the 150 million Indians with a credit score of 700-plus," shares Adhil Shetty, co-founder and CEO, BankBazaar. Analysing the consistent shortening response time and physical presence becoming irrelevant, they identified the need to provide credit to a country like ours. "The need for credit has always been paramount in a developing economy like India. Easy access to formal credit provides financial cushioning, supports growth, and protects from exploitation by unregulated and fly-bynight credit entities," said Shetty. The need for credit spiraled during the pandemic, and it was during this time that BankBazaar's Digital KYC solutions helped people in their times of need.

According to the trio, technology needs to be adaptive, flexible and modular for quick modification. BankBazaar boasts of being able to integrate any new partner onto their automated and modular system within a span of two weeks. "The right value-proposition at the right time always works. Post-pandemic, the market turned risk-averse, and there was a tightening of eligibility criteria," he recalls. During 2021-22, the startup branched out from being a credit products distributor to offering co-branded credit products with several reputed private banks along with the State Bank of India, "It took us two long years of re-evaluation, redesigning, and rebuilding to undo what we had built before we could rebuild a lean and watertight business that can remain stable and grow in headwinds and tailwinds alike."

So, how's it functioning in the sector? "During BankBazaar's formative years, I learnt that fintech is a cross-functional industry. Fintech is all about partnerships. For it to succeed, technology, regulators, and financial institutions must work in tandem." Currently, the company has amassed a base of 50 million registered users, aims to achieve 1 million co-branded credit cards in 2023 and scale up to 3 million over the next three years.