Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai.Meta is preparing to make one of its biggest strategic bets in India's fintech ecosystem by investing nearly $900 million (around Rs 8,500 crore) in CRED, as the social media giant looks beyond its unsuccessful payments business to build deeper financial relationships with Indian consumers. The move comes after WhatsApp Pay failed to gain meaningful ground in the country's booming UPI market, prompting Meta to focus on a premium customer base instead of chasing mass-market payment volumes.
Driving access to premium customers
The proposed investment values CRED at around Rs 37,000 crore, significantly lower than its peak valuation of nearly Rs 56,000 crore, yet still placing it among India's leading fintech startups. Although CRED continues to post losses, industry observers believe Meta is looking beyond immediate profitability and instead targeting access to India's financially strong consumers.
The investment is expected to provide Meta with:
- Access to CRED's premium merchant network
- A strong fintech ecosystem with multiple financial products
- A verified, high-income customer base
- Opportunities to expand financial services beyond advertising
CRED has built its reputation by catering primarily to users with credit scores above 750. The platform has over one crore such customers, making it an attractive destination for banks, insurers and luxury brands seeking financially disciplined and high-spending consumers.
CRED expands beyond bill payments
Initially launched as a platform for credit card bill payments, CRED has steadily diversified its offerings over the years. Today, it provides UPI payments, personal loans, rent payment services and wealth management products, making it a comprehensive fintech platform for premium users.
Key numbers highlight its scale:
- More than 1.7 crore registered users
- Around one crore users have credit scores above 750
- Annual payment volume reached nearly Rs 8.5 lakh crore
- Half of active users now use three or more services
Despite this strong engagement, the company remains loss-making, reflecting the heavy investments required to expand digital financial services.
Meta seeks deeper financial engagement
Meta continues to earn almost all of its revenue from advertising. In 2025, nearly 98% of its revenue, estimated at Rs 18.5 lakh crore, came from advertisements. However, digital advertising increasingly depends on accurate consumer insights and long-term engagement.
Payment platforms generate valuable financial behavior data, allowing companies to understand spending patterns, purchasing preferences and customer loyalty. Analysts believe Meta wants to position itself in the emerging embedded finance space, where payments become the gateway to services such as loans, insurance, investments and shopping.
Rather than relying only on social interactions, Meta appears to be building stronger financial relationships with users, something WhatsApp Pay has failed to achieve despite its widespread messaging presence.
WhatsApp Pay struggles despite early entry
WhatsApp Pay entered India in 2018 and was among the earliest platforms to join the UPI revolution. However, regulatory restrictions slowed its initial rollout.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) initially capped its user base at 10 lakh, later increasing the limit to two crore and eventually ten crore users. Although all restrictions were removed in 2024, WhatsApp Pay still commands less than 0.4% of India's UPI market.
Meanwhile:
- PhonePe and Google Pay together control over 80% of UPI transactions
- WhatsApp Pay remains a marginal player despite its massive messaging user base
- Market leadership has become increasingly difficult to challenge
Losses remain a key challenge
CRED's financial performance underlines both its opportunities and its challenges. During the previous financial year, the company reported operating revenue of Rs 2,735 crore while posting a net loss of Rs 1,457 crore, equivalent to more than half of its operating income.
Still, Meta appears willing to overlook these losses in favor of long-term strategic value. By investing in a platform that already serves financially stable and creditworthy consumers, the company hopes to strengthen its position in India's rapidly evolving digital finance market, where consumer payment habits are increasingly shaping the future of banking, commerce and financial services.
