Walmart's Flipkart secures RBI approval for direct lending in India

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Walmart's Flipkart has secured a lending licence from the Indian central bank and banking regulator, enabling it to offer loans directly to customers and sellers on its platform, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and a source.

This is the first time the Reserve Bank of India has granted a large e-commerce player in India a non-bank finance company (NBFC) licence, allowing it to lend but not take deposits.

Most e-commerce platforms currently offer loans in tie-ups with banks and NBFCs, but a lending licence will enable Flipkart - India's largest e-commerce firm - to lend directly, a more lucrative model for the group.

The central bank issued its certificate of registration - a document that officially recognises a company as an NBFC - to Flipkart Finance Private Limited on March 13.

Reuters has reviewed a copy of both the certificate of registration and the approval letter also dated March 13. The approval has not been previously reported.

Flipkart, in which US retail behemoth Walmart holds a more than 80 per cent stake, applied for the licence in 2022, according to the central bank's approval letter.

Neither Flipkart nor the Reserve Bank of India immediately responded to Reuters' request for comments.

The e-commerce giant may commence its lending operation "in a few months", according to a source aware of the matter who declined to be identified as the talks are private.

A final decision on the launch will be subject to the completion of various internal processes such as the appointment of key management personnel and board members and the finalisation of business plans, the source said.

Flipkart plans to lend directly to its customers on its popular e-commerce platform and through its fintech app super.money, the source said. It may also offer financing to sellers on the platform, they added.

At present, the e-commerce giant offers personal loans to customers through tie-ups with lenders such as Axis Bank, IDFC Bank and Credit Saison.

Flipkart, last valued at $37 billion in 2024 when it raised $1 billion in a funding round led by Walmart, is shifting its holding company from Singapore to India. Walmart also aims to take the 17-year-old company public.

Walmart bought a controlling stake in Flipkart in 2018, which also gave it ownership of PhonePe, a fintech firm also preparing for an IPO.

Earlier this year Flipkart's rival Amazon acquired a Bengaluru-based non-bank lender Axio, but the deal is yet to be cleared by the central bank.