MoneyTap surpasses one million user downloads

MoneyTap, an app-based credit line announced that it has crossed the milestone of one million user installs. With an aim to serve the lower-middle income group, MoneyTap has now lowered the annual interest rate to 13 percent (down from 15 percent).

The company also tripled its growth in the last three months owing to the festive season and is seeing continued momentum in the current wedding season.

MoneyTap is also now available to people in Indore, Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam. With the addition of these three cities, India's first credit line is now available in 20 cities in India.

Majority of MoneyTap users have a monthly income of Rs. 35,000 and are aged between 29-31 years, with the average credit line issue size being Rs. 85,000. Consumers tend to do multiple withdrawals from the credit line over a course of time and very few of them tend to withdraw the entire line amount. In fact, 65 percent of the users have not used the entire amount at one shot but have used it multiple times over multiple months.

This usage pattern indicates that consumers frequently need small amounts of credit to tide over essential purchases and payments. Consumers also have varied requirements when it comes to cash and card. Not all purchases can be done through cash and not all payments are accepted by card.

MoneyTap offers its consumers the convenience of using both card and cash through the app. Over 60 percent of transactions on MoneyTap are cash withdrawals and 40 percent are from card payments.

"Middle income customers (salaried and self-employed) making Rs. 20,000 per month or more are not serviced by financial institutions today without putting up collateral such as gold or those who need smaller amounts. This is the clear unaddressed need. When we spoke to customers, they not only wanted the above needs addressed but also wanted the product to be very flexible and convenient. For the very first time, MoneyTap is bringing the access to credit with a single tap on the mobile phone," said Anuj Kacker, cofounder, MoneyTap.

MoneyTap is available on Android and is targeted at salaried individuals and self-employed professionals earning more than Rs 20,000 per month. Using the Credit Line, consumers can borrow as little as Rs. 3000 or as much as Rs. five lakhs or up to their maximum eligibility limit. Customers can decide their own EMI plans with flexible payback periods ranging from two months to three years.

Interest is paid only on the amount borrowed and rates can be as low as 1.08 percent per month. If the user does not borrow any amount, then no interest needs to be paid. The credit limit also gets replenished once EMIs are paid back. All financial transactions such as billing and repayment are directly dealt with the respective bank or NBFC through the MoneyTap App using secure APIs, thus ensuring 100 percent secure transactions.

To keep up with its rapid expansion plans, MoneyTap is increasing its employee count and plans to add 50 new team members in tech, data, product, marketing and operations in the next six months. MoneyTap also plans to solidify its leadership position by improving credit accessibility for other segments of customers, partnering with six other banks and NBFCs and expanding to 50 cities in India by March 2018.

The Bengaluru-based startup recently raised a total of USD 12.3 million in funding from Sequoia India, NEA and Prime Venture Partners.