Lending platform True Balance disburses loans worth over INR 2 billion

By Leandra Monteiro

As per data released by SIDBI and Eqifax, Consumer and Personal Loans continue to be strong for NBFCs and FinTechs with 87 per cent share in active loans. It was also reported that more borrowers are opting for personal loans to fund their consumption needs, and not for an emergency. The trend is more prominent in low-income families, which are availing loans of less than ₹50,000.

The pandemic and the subsequent lockdown caused a heavy financial strain for consumers, and the growth in small-ticket personal loans were primarily driven by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and FinTech start-ups. That being said, True Balance, the RBI licensed lending platform, has disbursed over INR 2 billion in the last 6 months (Q3 FY 20-21 to Q4 FY 20-21). The average ticket size of the Cash Loan has been ~INR 23,000.

Victor Choi, Managing Director, True Credits said, “As an RBI authorized NBCF, we have disbursed over INR 2.4 billion worth of loans to our consumers, over the last year. We noticed a spike especially in Q3 of FY20-21 as the lockdown had just been lifted and many consumers used these loans to kick-start their businesses or spend it on their personal needs.”

“Some of the states where we saw the highest disbursal were Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. These states accounted for more than 50% of the amount disbursed across India. We attribute the success of our lending business to the fact that we follow the regulations laid down by the RBI to the last word. We don’t encourage any kind of coercive recovery methods and it has reflected in our business.”

“The second wave has yet again caused a lot of uncertainty and cash crunch for consumers, and it is therefore imperative that we ensure a safe lending atmosphere to help protect consumers and our business. We are seeing an increase in demand for our cash loan product where the average ticket size is INR 20,000 – 25,000/- on the app. At True Balance we have always believed in enabling finance for all, and with this we look forward to reaching out to every consumer that is underbanked and requires access to credit.”