Zavo rolls out AI platform to simplify retail loan settlements

By Vriti Gothi

Zavo has launched an AI-powered Settlement Marketplace to streamline the resolution of distressed retail loans. The rollout comes amid rising stress in the consumer credit ecosystem, where India’s retail borrower base has crossed 100 million and non-performing assets continue to hover around $60 billion.

Loan settlements in India traditionally occur through fragmented negotiations involving recovery agents, multiple intermediaries and opaque, off-record discussions. As defaults rise, lenders face escalating recovery costs while borrowers struggle with anxiety, limited transparency and, in some cases, harassment during overdue EMI cycles. Zavo’s new marketplace positions itself as a digital alternative to this system, introducing structured workflows and data-led assessments of repayment intent.

The platform allows borrowers to upload loan details and receive counteroffers from lenders in real time, supported by Zavo’s behavioural repayment intent score, a model trained on patterns drawn from millions of EMI transactions. According to the company, this aims to give lenders a clearer picture of a borrower’s willingness and ability to settle, while enabling borrowers to access competitive and compliant settlement options.

“For years, India lacked a structured, humane system for settlements. Our internal data shows that over 70% of retail borrowers who default do so because of life disruptions, not because they are unwilling to pay,” said Kundan Shahi, Founder & CEO of Zavo. “Yet the absence of transparency leaves them facing harassment, inflated demands, or costly middlemen.”

Zavo said it has already processed claims worth $132 million across 223 lenders, with 43 lenders participating in live bidding for overdue accounts. Each step of the settlement process is recorded on the platform to ensure auditability and eliminate unregulated interactions.

Industry observers note that an organised settlement infrastructure has been a long-standing gap in India’s retail credit landscape, where negotiations are typically one-on-one and offer little consistency. By creating a unified marketplace, Zavo aims to shorten resolution timelines, reduce operational friction for lenders and embed fairness as a standard feature for borrowers.