India-based digital lending and full-stack financial service platform MyShubhLife has partnered digital banking platform Easy Pay to provide a line of credit for Easy Pay merchants. Following the collaboration with the company targeting the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector in India, MyShubhLife will be permitted to leverage its technology and fast processes to tap into Easy Pay’s customer base and enable expedited loan disbursals.

MyShubhLife, Easy Pay strategy and partnership details Both Easy Pay and MyShubhLife have the goal of addressing customers’ unmet credit needs and providing them with ‘hassle-free’ digital borrowing experiences, while simultaneously promoting the Digital Bharat and financial inclusion agendas, with the collaboration intending to serve the unorganised domestic retail sector. An app that acts as a one-stop shop for the financial needs of all MSMEs, Easy Pay serves more than 18,000 pin codes across the country and following the partnership, MyShubhLife is set to provide formal credit to the extensive MSME segment. Based on the information provided in the press release, MyShubhLife has a robust technology platform that leverages data analytics and AI to provide its clients with various customised products that are based on their working capital requirements.

When commenting on the announcement, Monish Anand, CEO of MyShubhLife stated that in India, raising capital has proven to be a difficult task for small and medium-sized businesses, with the last two years predominantly having served as a reminder of the credit gap that is present in India's MSMEs sector. Having this knowledge as its basis, the company’s credit model and advanced analytics are designed to meet the financing needs of MSMEs and industry segments that have been excluded from the formal financial system due to issues related to a lack of documentation or poor credit history. Furthermore, officials believe the collaboration with Easy Pay will help them democratise credit in India by offering accessible and responsible credit to this vast and unorganised segment.

Vaibhav Joshi, CEO of Easy Pay added that the MyShubhLife collaboration is an important step in realising their vision of bringing digital credit to a billion phones and creating an increasingly inclusive financial system in the region. The company is committed to leveraging its technology and expertise for closing the credit gap and offering small businesses the financial tools needed to succeed in the current digital economy. 2021-2023 state of digital lending in India A Statista report details that in India, digital lending is one of the fastest growing fintech segments, having increased from USD 9 billion in 2012 to almost USD 150 billion in 2020, and the expectation has been that the market would reach a value of approximately USD 350 billion by 2023.

What is more, this business was predominantly covered by fintech startups and non-banking financial companies (NBFC). Digital companies in the region offer small loans to their customers via apps or online platforms and compared with bank loans, they do not require a specific bank account but have lower requirements and an expedited process. Digital lending start-ups are gaining popularity amongst customers and aim to address the credit gap.

What is more, apart from providing loans for individuals, these lending companies also help serve the MSME sector, which has a high credit demand fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, as a multitude of enterprises are not eligible for banking loans and thus have to look for alternative funding. .