Flipkart Forays Into Personal Loans

E-commerce giant Flipkart Pvt. has begun offering personal loans to its 45 crore customers, beating its Walmart Inc.-owned relative PhonePe Pvt. in offering the service.

Flipkart is offering personal loans in partnership with Axis Bank Ltd.

"The newly introduced personal loan service offers ... access to amounts as high as Rs 5 lakh, allowing customers flexible repayment cycles ranging from 6 to 36 months," Flipkart said in a press release, as it looks to leverage the potential of digital lending. 

The partnership aims at providing "lending solutions to a wider spectrum of customers offering customised solutions that cater to the specific needs of users," said Sameer Shetty, president and head–digital business and transformation, Axis Bank.

The Bengaluru-based e-commerce company already offers several financial instruments to its customers, such as 'Buy Now, Pay Later', equated monthly installments, and co-branded credit cards. PhonePe currently offers loans, but only to its merchants.

Since being founded in 2007, Walmart-owned Flipkart has expanded into several different categories, with Myntra Flipkart Wholesale, Flipkart Health+ and Cleartrip all coming under its fold.

In December last year, PhonePe officially separated from the Flipkart Group and is now set up as a separate business within the Walmart Group.