Fullerton India partners with fintech startup Stashfin for $15-mn lending deal

Delhi-based online lending platform Stashfin has tied up with financial services firm Fullerton India for a $15-million (Rs 104.32 crore) onward lending deal, a report in an online financial news website stated.

Online media publication Inc42, citing the company’s founder and chief executive Tushar Aggarwal, said that the partnership will help the company expand its loan books.

An onward lending deal is a transaction where a company uses borrowed capital to lend to another person or organisation.

EQX Analytics Pvt. Ltd, which operates Stashfin, struck the partnership with Fullerton India, the Indian arm of Singapore-headquartered financial services and non-banking financial platform, Singapore’s Fullerton Financial Holdings Pte Ltd.

E-mail queries sent to Aggarwal, seeking more information on this partnership did not elicit a response at the time of filing this report.

In July last year, online media publication Business Today had stated that Stashfin had partnered with NBFC firm DMI Finance to raise Rs 30 crore to lend through its platform

Prior to that, in June 2017, it had raised $5 million (Rs 32.2 crore) in a pre-Series A round of funding from Kirloskar Group's venture capital arm, Snow Leopard Ventures, as well as Singapore-based Alto Partners and GrowX Ventures.

Launched in September 2016 by Aggarwal, Stashfin is a machine learning-driven digital lending venture that provides a virtual credit facility to consumers. It offers loans ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5,00,000 with repayment tenures starting from three to 36 months.

Users are given a Stashfin credit line card which can be used like a credit/debit card by loading cash from the app onto the card. Users can also use it at ATMs to withdraw cash. The company claims to disburse loans in as little as four hours from the time of application and approval.

Aggarwal previously worked with Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, private equity firms General Atlantic and Everstone Capital. He holds an MBA from The Wharton School and is also a chartered financial analyst.

Recent deals in online lending

• May 2019: Mumbai-based Nomisma Mobile Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates fintech startup Ftcash, raised $7.22 million (Rs 50 crore then) in its Series A round of funding.
• May 2019: Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures India) topped up its Series B investment in Bengaluru-based online lending platform EarlySalary.
• April 2019: Online loan platform InCred Financial Services Ltd raised Rs 600 crore ($86 million) in a Series A funding round led by Dutch development bank FMO.
• April 2019: Bengaluru-based shopping loans marketplace ZestMoney raised $20 million (about Rs 140 crore) in its Series B funding round led by venture capital firm Quona Capital.
• April 2019: Mumbai-based Eduvanz Financing Pvt. Ltd, an online platform that provides education loans for students and skill-seekers, raised $2 million (Rs 13.8 crore) from Unitus Ventures and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.
• April 2019: Bengaluru-based online consumer lending company Credy raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round of funding.