BharatPe enters BNPL, offers even 'golgappas' on EMI as it bets on offline

Launches new product 'postpe' towards this end, which customers can download from Play Store and avail interest-free credit limit of up to Rs 10 lakh

BharatPe, one of India’s fastest growing fintech companies, announced its entry into the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) category with the launch of its product- ‘postpe’. Postpe provides credit to customers to buy now and pay later, for anything, and from anywhere.

Customers can download the postpe app from Play Store and avail interest-free credit limit of up to Rs 10 lakh. The firm said postpe is a first-of-its-kind BNPL product that is not limited to big-ticket purchases but can also be used for micro-purchases. BharatPe aims to facilitate a loan book of $300 million on postpe in the first 12 months, for its lending partners.

“Our aim with postpe is to make EMI and credit available for everyday purchases. ‘Golgappa’ on EMI as well as ‘iPhone’ on EMI is our motto,” said Ashneer Grover, Co-Founder and Managing Director, BharatPe. “We find the current BNPL plays in Indian market suboptimal, trying to copy the west for online checkouts, whereas the true market in India is offline. Postpe will be the leader in BNPL space in India by virtue of being no cost to merchants and universal acceptance.”

The firm said this digital product empowers the customers to shop across offline as well as online merchants, and repay easily through EMIs. Customers can open the postpe app, scan QR code and pay using postpe credit at merchant outlets. They also have the option to pay via a postpe card that will be accepted across millions of offline merchants as well as on e-commerce platforms. The customers can also unlock cashbacks and win exciting rewards on their first and specific milestone transactions.

“We are excited to shake up the BNPL category. Postpe is a product built on simple principles,” said Grover. “Consumer should be able to pay using credit everywhere – QRs, card machine or online and should be able to convert into EMI at ease – not inconvenienced at point of sale. The merchant should not be charged for accepting payments through BNPL.”

Postpe is designed for the new-age customers who believe in shopping smart and are also well-versed with digital payment modes. Postpe aggregates all the transactions done by a customer, across channels, and generates one bill for repayment. Also, there is no annual fee or transaction charges on payments done via postpe app or  card.

Previously, BharatPe announced its entry into consumer Fintech with the launch of 12% Club. The app is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. With 12% Club, consumers have an option to invest and earn up to 12% annual interest or borrow at a competitive interest rate of 12%. BharatPe has partnered with RBI approved NBFCs  (non-banking financial company) to offer this investment-cum-borrowing product for consumers and facilitated investments of more than Rs 100 crore within a month of launch.