Fintech major CRED has launched peer-to-peer UPI payments on its app, allowing CRED members to transact with CRED members or non-members by searching their contact list and adding phone numbers, or UPI ids.

The service will be limited to CRED members. To become a CRED member, one needs to have 750 or above credit score. “While UPI has created a revolution in digital payments with a focus on utility, CRED seeks to move beyond being transactional- creating an elevated UPI experience for members. This experience hinges on making payments instant, secure, and rewarding,” the company said in a statement.

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The new payment experience has been introduced after the launch of Scan & Pay in October 2022. As scan and pay gain traction, CRED expects the number of merchants to grow. Now with the launch of P2P UPI payments, CRED members will have multiple payment options including offline payments (UPI P2P, Scan & Pay, Tap to Pay), online merchant payments (CRED Pay, CRED flash) and bill payments. 

Key features

Other key features of CRED’s UPI P2P Experience are payment reminders for recurring transactions, option to create a custom VPA and mask personal details like mobile numbers from their UPI id. CRED recorded a net loss of ₹1279 crore in FY22 even though its revenue jumped by almost 340 per cent from ₹95 crore in FY21 to ₹422 crore in FY22.

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The company’s losses have more than doubled from ₹524 crore in FY21. In an earlier conversation with businessline, CEO Kunal Shah attributed the losses to the company’s focus on building a community of members and building the brand. CRED said it has grown to a base of 11.2 million members in FY22 as compared to 7.5 million in FY21. 

The four-year-old start-up rewards customers for paying credit card bills and has built multiple user cases for its customers including cash, mint, pay, credit card bill payment, max, rewards, store and travel.