PaySense

Karanjkar's background includes an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and over a decade of experience in strategic roles at companies like AT&T and AT Kearney in the US and Singapore. Ranganathan, a serial entrepreneur with a background in engineering and bioinformatics from institutions like Stanford University, previously co-founded a mobile security startup that was acquired by PayPal, where he later served as Head of Product for the Asia-Pacific region.

The company operates as an online marketplace for consumer loans, targeting a wide demographic that includes young professionals, self-employed individuals, and those new to credit. Through its Android mobile app, PaySense provides unsecured personal loans ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹5,00,000 for various purposes such as medical emergencies, vehicle purchases, and home improvements. The business model hinges on partnerships with NBFCs and banks registered with the RBI, such as PayU Finance, IDFC First Bank, and Credit Saison India, who disburse the loans. PaySense utilizes data science and proprietary risk assessment software to evaluate creditworthiness, which allows for a fully digital, paperless application process with approvals often granted within hours.

Financially, PaySense demonstrated significant growth, securing a total of $34.1 million over four funding rounds from investors including Nexus Venture Partners, Jungle Ventures, and PayU. A major milestone occurred in January 2020 when PayU, a global fintech and payments business, acquired a controlling stake in PaySense at a valuation of $185 million. Following the acquisition, PaySense was merged with PayU's own consumer lending business, LazyPay, to form a more comprehensive digital lending platform. Ranganathan took the helm as the CEO of the newly merged entity. Keywords: personal loans, digital lending, fintech, consumer credit, instant loan app, financial services, credit access, EMI plans, online loans, unsecured loans, NBFC partnership, risk assessment, data science in finance, PayU, Prashanth Ranganathan, Sayali Karanjkar, Mumbai startup, Indian credit market, loan disbursal, financial inclusion