Kiwi Raises $24M Series B to Expand Credit-on-UPI Across 600 Cities

Kiwi, a Bengaluru-based fintech startup founded in 2022, has raised $24 million in a Series B funding round led by Vertex Ventures South East Asia & India, with participation from Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Omidyar Network. The company, which pioneered Credit-on-UPI by issuing RuPay credit cards linked to India's UPI payments network, plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate product development, strengthen unit economics, and expand partnerships with banks, including YES Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, with plans to onboard two more banks soon. Kiwi has issued over 200,000 RuPay credit cards since its 2023 launch and processes more than 5 million merchant transactions monthly across 600 cities, aiming to issue 1 million cards by 2027. It is also preparing to launch credit lines on UPI, which will allow users to access pre-approved credit limits directly via their UPI-enabled savings accounts, combining payment convenience with short-term credit flexibility after recent regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India. The company’s leadership and investors emphasize the vast growth potential, citing India's over 350 million unique UPI users compared to a much smaller credit card base, and the significantly larger acceptance network for credit-on-UPI versus traditional credit cards. Kiwi aims to become a leading platform within the emerging Credit-on-UPI space, capitalizing on the increasing demand for accessible credit products integrated with India's dominant payment infrastructure.