Bajaj Markets crosses $3 bn in disbursals, targets $1 bn more in FY26

Aims to end FY26 with an annualised run rate of close to billion dollars in disbursal

Bajaj Markets, a comprehensive financial marketplace majority-owned by Bajaj Finserv, has crossed $3 billion in loan disbursements since its inception. The platform now aims to close the current financial year (FY26) with a annualised run rate of nearly $1 billion in disbursals, facilitated through its network of over 55 lending partners, including some of the country’s largest state-owned and private sector banks. 

 

Apart from lending, the platform also offers insurance and investment products through partnerships with various providers. However, as part of the Bajaj Finserv group, its core focus remains on loans — including personal, business, home, loan against property, and gold loans.

 

“We have 101 manufacturers on the supply side, which I believe is among the highest in Indian marketplaces. They cut across banks, NBFCs, FinTechs, HFCs, insurance companies, and so on”, said Ashish Panchal, MD & CEO, Bajaj Finserv Direct (also known as Bajaj Markets). 

 

“We wanted to keep the J-curve shallow. We have an entrepreneurial spirit at Bajaj Finserv, and, given the expertise within the group that was available to guide us, we decided to focus first on the lending marketplace,” Panchal said, adding that while they also have a presence in the insurance and investment marketplaces, as well as in payments, the big thrust today is on lending.

 

Among the variety of loan products it offers, personal loans remain the most popular.

 

In insurance, the platform has tied up with 19 leading companies. “We started with 19 insurance partners. But if you want to scale insurance in a big way — and this is a competitive space — then we will have to put in a lot of separate effort, because insurance is a push product compared with loans, which are pull products,” Panchal said.

 

According to him, post-Covid, while manufacturers have enhanced their digital offerings through websites and apps, marketplaces are also evolving rapidly.

 

“By 2030, it is estimated that digital buying of loans will exceed offline buying in any given year. In other words, digital channels will have more than 50 per cent market share of new loans disbursed in a year, compared with traditional channels,” Panchal said.

 

He added that Bajaj Markets sees 230.5 million annual visits across almost 19,000 pin codes in India and has over 36 million app installs.

 

Recently, the company joined the ONDC network on the buyer side, giving customers access to about 100,000 sellers. This is in addition to financial services, as users now expect one app to serve multiple purposes.

 

“Among the players attempting to build a marketplace, we believe the most efficient ones with a long-term view will remain in the top three. And we believe we have done well so far,” Panchal said, adding that the real measure of success for any marketplace, including theirs, is whether the purposes of both manufacturers and consumers are fulfilled.

 

“The maximum number of manufacturers should find the customers they are looking for, and the maximum number of customers should get the kind of loans they are eligible for,” he added.