Online lending startup LoanTap raises $3 mn from HNIs

LoanTap Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd, an online platform that offers EMI-free loans and overdraft products to salaried professionals, has secured $3 million (Rs 20 crore) from Mumbai-based affluent individuals Abhishek Pandey and Jaysukh Sapra, the company said in a statement.

The firm will use the funds to expand its operations in the National Capital Region, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Bengaluru. It will use nearly 85% of the amount for lending and the remaining to augment its technology and distribution frameworks, the statement said.

"Instead of burning the entire capital on technology upgrades and distribution, we will chiefly utilize the money for creating end-user specific products and delivering it directly to retail customers," said Satyam Kumar, CEO of LoanTap.

Headquartered in Mumbai with a back office in Pune, LoanTap follows an agency-based collection model catering to the low-delinquency salaried segment with job experience of two to five years.

The startup intends to deepen its presence in the salaried segment and eventually lend to small and medium-sized businesses with an average loan size of Rs 6 lakh by expanding to the top 10 cities of the country. It is aiming at a book size of Rs 750 crore in the next three years.

LoanTap does not operate on an aggregator model but directly dispenses loans through its in-house non-banking finance company.

LoanTap was established in May this year by Satyam Kumar and Vikas Kumar. Satyam has 17 years of experience in the loans business having worked with IndusInd Bank, Deutsche Postbank, ICICI Bank and ICI India, where he has built teams, designed products and built distribution channels. Vikas, who is also CTO at LoanTap, has 16 years of experience in the software industry. Between 2000 and 2010, he founded and exited Brainvisa, a Pune-based e-learning firm. He is also an investor in various startups such as Unbxd, Mobikon Technologies and Dogspot.in to name a few. He also advises and mentors startups on technology and strategy and is part of the Indian Angel Network.

The online lending segment has seen a lot of activity in recent months with startups targeting different segments such as small businesses, students and salaried professionals.

Last month, lending marketplace Deal4Loans, which offers retail loans, raised $15 million from Franklin Templeton International Services (India) Pvt. Ltd.

The same month, Delhi-based Zouk Loans pivoted its online lending business that catered to small and medium-sized businesses to become an enterprise software provider for financial institutions.

Former Housing CFO Ritesh Jain teamed up with Manish Lunia and Deepak Jain in July to start an online lending platform for SMEs.

In June, SME lending firm Lendingkart raised $32 million in a Series B round led by Bertelsmann India Investments and others, and Bengaluru-based KrazyBee.com, which offers loans to students with no credit history or credit cards, raised $2 million in seed funding from two Chinese firms.

Like this report? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our top reports.