Fintech unicorn Slice to merge with India’s North East Small Finance Bank
Indian credit card fintech Slice has been given the green light by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to merge with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB); a rare feat between an Indian bank and fintech that is poised to widen access to financial services for the country’s most underserved communities.
Slice to merge with North East Small Finance Bank
The Bangalore-based fintech specialises in flexible credit and lending services targeted primarily at Millennials, with an adjoining app that promotes the easier management of everyday consumer expenses.
Its services caught the attention of the fintech world stage when its December 2021 Series B, which raised $220 million, tipped it into unicorn status, followed by a $50 million Tiger Global-led Series C six months later.
Its plans to merge with NESFB, a small finance bank headquartered in Guwahati and offering basic banking services to individuals and small businesses located primarily in India’s north-eastern region, comes after it acquired a 5% stake in the bank earlier this year, a deal which valued NESFB at $68.4 million.
Perhaps most notable about the agreement to merge the two entities is that it follows an order by RBI in June last year which banned lines of credit from being loaded through prepaid payment instruments, including cards and wallets. Slice initially reacted to this direction by shifting its provision to term loans and away from credit lines provided through its app. Its merger with NESFB will now see the fintech transition into a small finance bank.
Speaking on the merger, Rajan Bajaj, CEO of Slice, explains that the agreement “allows us to serve a wider audience, including those often overlooked, while also building a deep emotional connection with our customers”.
“We will further strengthen our risk underwriting through the use of technology and data, and always keep customers at the heart of our decisions.”
