IDFC Bank partners with Capital Float for digital lending to SMEs

IDFC Bank has partnered with Bangalore-based online lending platform, Capital Float, to provide digital lending to small businesses across India.

The partnership will address the needs of borrowers who have no access to organized bank credit, with limited or no documentation and without existing credit history. It is thus expected to bring more small businesses into the organized finance architecture.

Capital Float is IDFC Bank’s first partner in the digital lending space. It will provide the Bank access to Capital Float’s digital network of borrowers, thereby enabling it to diversify its portfolio of small ticket loans and grow its customer base. Capital Float, in turn, can leverage IDFC Bank’s strong balance sheet, product innovation and extreme customization of banking products for this segment of borrowers. Additionally, being technology-intensive with fully integrated processes, IDFC Bank is able to deliver a seamless digital experience to customers.

IDFC is the first bank to integrate deeply with Capital Float’s unique platform, leveraging not just its differentiated loan products and lending capabilities but also its best-in-class technology infrastructure.

Dr. Rajiv Lall, MD & CEO, IDFC Bank, said, “Radical partnering with fintech companies will enable us to serve small businesses digitally, while rapidly building the Bank’s customer base. The deep integration of our technology offering with that of Capital Float’s will help us deliver a seamless digital experience for small merchants and entrepreneurs – from credit assessment and speedy processing of loan requests to making available to them, a range of evolved banking solutions. It will also give us access to the top 50 cities, and segments that hitherto did not have access to formal credit.”

Sashank Rishyasringa, Co-Founder, Capital Float, said, “This alliance paves the way for fintech companies and banks to not just coexist, but actively collaborate to deliver a differentiated value proposition. Both entities have unique capabilities and have come together to create a potent relationship from a financing perspective. We’ve witnessed the success of similar partnerships in the West, such as the collaborations between JP Morgan-OnDeck and RBS-Funding Circle.”

“Our partnership with IDFC is also unique in that both entities will co-originate loans to SMEs, with significant skin-in-the-game from Capital Float,” he added.

Small and micro enterprises have been growing at an exponential rate; however, access to formal credit has been severely restricted, compelling them to turn to unorganized financing channels. Seventy percent of this market is unaddressed by the banking system. With growing digital penetration, a number of them are turning to digital lending.