Hyperface gets funding from Cred founder Kunal Shah, others : Tech News

New Delhi: Hyperface Technologies, which designs co-branded credit cards for ecommerce firms and fintech startups, has raised $1.3 million from Cred founder Kunal Shah, Better Capital and Global Founders Capital, among others.

The funding will be used to strengthen the Bengaluru-based startup’s technology platform and launch card programs, as well as for hiring and growth.

Founded in February 2021 by Juspay’s former Chief Technology Officer RV Ramanathan and banker-turned-entrepreneur Aishwarya Jaishankar, Hyperface helps businesses and brands to launch their own unique credit card products and embed financial products into their mobile apps.

Its application programming interface (API)-first and platform-based approach allows fintech firms to set up a program in 4-8 weeks instead of the typical 18-24 months. Hyperface APIs allow fintechs to manage the entire customer experience across the card lifecycle, create custom loyalty programs and drive customer engagement in a variety of ways.

“Our mission is to reinvent, simplify and improve access to credit cards by enabling fintech companies to partner with banks in 10 times more productive ways,” said Ramanathan RV, founder and chief executive, Hyperface.

Credit cards—though in existence for more than 20 years in India—is a heavily regulated financial product powered by legacy technologies. This makes it difficult for issuers to move fast in a digital-first world. But Sayali Karanjkar, Paysense’s founder and an active angel investor in fintech startups, believes things are about to change.

“Credit cards are slated to grow 10x in India. This huge wave of growth will emerge from fintech companies in partnership with banks,” Karanjkar said. “Ram and Aishwarya are passionate about enabling this trend by building a platform with customizable features for brands to deliver adaptive experiences to their customers.”

Still, credit card penetration continues to be low in India with only three credit cards for every 100 people. As of July 2021, about 63 million credit cards were issued in the country, compared to nearly 900 million debit cards in circulation.

“There is a need for a partner who can help bridge the gap between financial institutions and fintech companies who wish to issue a credit card product for their customers,” said Vaibhav Domkundwar of Better Capital, an early backer of fintech innovators like Rupeek, Open, Jupiter and others. “Providing fintechs with flexible, and scalable solutions will enable them to power and execute unique credit card programs.”