With its UPI RuPay credit card, Kiwi brings more customers to kiranas, street vendors

Owning a credit card in this modern era is a common practice. However, the idea of conducting daily transactions through a UPI-based credit card may raise some eyebrows, said Mohit Bedi, Co-founder of Kiwi, a fintech startup specialising in credit card management.

While it might seem unconventional for many to use credit for daily necessities, Bedi believes it facilitates kiranas and street vendors in reaching a broader customer base, offering convenience to shoppers.

Talking at TechSparks Mumbai 2024 Bedi explained, "The unique users of credit cards number around 40 million to 50 million, whereas UPI mobile phone users account for approximately 330 million. The ecosystem is more than 10 times larger; we just need to bring the two together."

Kiwi offers UPI-based transactions via credit cards through RuPay digital cards. In contrast to traditional credit cards that require a Point of Sale transaction machine, Kiwi enables customers to scan a QR code and make payments using their linked credit cards.

Bedi emphasises that the terms and conditions mirror those of regular credit card usage. Customers are provided with a specific window of time, within which they must make the payments or they will incur interest.

But wouldn’t it lead to bad debts or over-expenditure?

Bedi said while challenges persist, the company focuses on the larger picture of providing ease of doing payments to customers besides giving more business for small merchants. He cites an example, saying unlike the regular usage of credit cards for ecommerce shopping or at fine dining restaurants, stores, etc., Kiwi digital cards are used at panipuri wala stalls, vada pav stalls, etc.

“85% of our transactions happen in offline spots and even in places where there are hardly any POS terminals like the Northeastern part of India and any other smaller town,” he added.

He said that credit cards are not a loan instrument but a payment convenience instrument, and that needs to be kept in mind. 

Kiwi has close to 14,000 users, and Bedi claimed that 95% of its users repay the due within time, and there isn’t any revolving, which is a good sign.