This Fintech ‘schools’ Indians in consumer credit cases

Among memories of studying math, performing physics experiments and reading Shakespearean poetry at school, do you remember attending courses to invest your savings and build a good credit score? If you went to school in India, the answer would most likely be a resounding no! Then it is no wonder that you sleep better knowing that your money is invested in traditional but reliable fixed deposits instead of in stocks with high dividends, but more risky! It also does not shock us in the least if you quickly answer “Not interested” on the phone before the poor bank representative can finish by telling you the good news that you are approved to use credit card services. (Keywords flash off Confessions from a shopoholic (2009))

“We Indians usually do not spend much time on financial education early in our lives unlike consumers in other markets,” explains Anurag Sinha, CEO and founder of OneScore and OneCard, which aims to build a community of credit-conscious consumers in the country. by offering solutions to address the plausibility gap that exists between their ambitions and income levels.

“Consumer credit is a huge opportunity in India. A credit score is a three-digit number, which must be monitored regularly regardless of where you were last month. Along with your payment history, new product requests whether successful or not, Credit Mix, Length of credit history and new credit “All of these factors play an important role in determining your credit score,” says Sinha.

His Fintech product, OneScore, provides access to a free point check from major agencies and personal insights, and also offers a wealth of credit-related information in one place, to educate users and make them increasingly credit-conscious. In addition, OneCard is a metal card that comes with an app to help customers manage the entire credit card life cycle from the app, including applying for the credit card, tracking expenses and rewards, redeeming reward points, offers and EMIs, repayments, etc.

“We also work with brands and trading partners to co-create value propositions,” he says, adding, “A credit card is a product with a very high level of commitment, and you want to ensure that your costs are within limits. Therefore, build an end to -Exit digital experience is important. “

Although there are several credit card options available in the market, Sinha believes that there is a large open space for a mobile-first customer experience for young Indians, and therefore his company focuses exclusively on that. So who are their customers? “For mobile financial services, the main segment is typically between 20 and 35 years old. The digital divide is still a major problem in India, and it is not only due to unavailability of infrastructure or technology, but age is also an equally important factor. Factor. financial services such as UPI have helped bridge this gap to some extent, with both millennials and even 45-year-olds easily using it. “

In terms of geographical location, the consumer base of OneScore is widespread, with more than 40% of the population coming from the 6-8 best cities in the country. But when it comes to OneCards, almost 70-80 percent of the consumer base comes from tens of cities.

“Interestingly enough, when it comes to gender, credit or general economic decision making and the consumer landscape has always been male dominated. However, we are gradually witnessing a change in this demographic with more and more women now making their own financial decisions and consuming credit on their own. But this is still at an early stage compared to developed economies, and therefore it is important that we build more innovative and engaging products to help women grow financially independent, “Sinha believes.

In terms of growth plans, he plans to continue to focus his efforts on scaling the existing credit management business (OneScore) and credit issuance (OneCard). In the medium term, the team can expand its product portfolio in adjacent areas within the credit area. “Speaking of which, OneScore has 16 million users on board, which shows that people want to learn about credit, they want to be aware but don’t know where to go, despite a lot of information,” he says.