Kiwi

About Kiwi

Kiwi is a fintech company that enables users to make Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions using a credit card. Founded in November 2022 by Siddharth Mehta, Mohit Bedi, and Anup Agrawal, the company is headquartered in Bengaluru, India. The founders bring extensive experience from the financial and tech sectors, with Mehta having served as CEO of Freecharge, Bedi holding senior roles at Axis Bank and PayU, and Agrawal previously heading business at PayU's Lazypay.

The platform addresses the gap between the large number of UPI users and the relatively smaller number of credit card holders in India by providing an all-in-one "Credit on UPI" solution. In partnership with banks like Axis Bank and Yes Bank, Kiwi issues a lifetime-free, virtual RuPay credit card instantly through its mobile application. This allows users to link the card to any UPI app and conduct transactions by scanning QR codes, eliminating the need for a physical card or point-of-sale machine. The service targets the 300 million UPI users, aiming to expand access to credit for those underserved by traditional banks.

The business model is direct-to-consumer (D2C), focused on customer acquisition through its app. Revenue is generated from transaction fees, while users benefit from features like instant cashback, rewards, and comprehensive in-app card management, including blocking the card and increasing limits. The app also allows users to check their credit scores. Kiwi has raised a total of $19 million over two funding rounds. A pre-seed round in May 2023 brought in $6 million, followed by a Series A round in November 2023 that raised $13 million, led by Omidyar Network India with participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners.