Kunal Shah, the CEO of Indian fintech start-up CRED, has recently disclosed his salary, Rs 15,000 per month (USD 181.70/month) in remuneration. However, when questioned why he kept his pay so modest, Kunal Shah said in an Instagram story that he thought he should receive a significant salary once the fintech company became profitable.
“I don’t think I should be paid well until the business is successful. My monthly income at CRED is Rs 15,000,” Kunal Shah remarked in an Instagram post.
“There are CEOs who receive salaries in the millions of dollars, but Kunal Shah,” a Twitter user commented, sharing a screenshot of Kunal Shah’s Instagram story.
When asked why CRED has yet to gain profit, Kunal Shah replied, “Most venture-funded companies are built differently than typical businesses that trade where you buy cheap and sell goods with some margin. Tech companies invest capital for several years to make large distribution and engagement before monetizing. India is in the early stages of understanding venture funding and tech startups and will continue to mock loss-making companies.”
“We shouldn’t forget 90% of funded companies may die as it may fail to monetize or make profits, but mocking risk-takers will only create a government job-seeking mindset,” he added.
Meanwhile, CRED is rolling out a buy now and pay later service and a ‘Tap To Pay’ feature as the fintech platform broadens its offerings to boost engagement and monetization on its portal.
CRED flash will allow the customers to make seamless payments on the app and across over 500 partner merchants, including Swiggy, Zepto and Urban Company and clear the bill at no charge in 30 days.
The customized credit extended to customers will allow them to make bill payments and recharges and other expenses with a single swipe and without waiting for an OTP authentication code, said the startup, which is reportedly valued at over USD 6 billion. The service, powered by Reserve Bank of India-registered NBFC Parfait Finance and Investments Pvt Limited, will initially roll out the BNPL to a select group of customers.
In 2022, the startup launched ‘Scan and Pay’, its fast UPI QR payments that allow customers to earn rewards for each transaction they made to merchants and also protect their identities.
CRED, which has some 16 million users, started its operations as a utility tool for tracking and paying credit card bills. The app is currently onboard only those who have at least a 750 credit score.
A handful of startups in India offer buy now and pay later services, but many of the prominent names in the category, including Zip-backed ‘ZestMoney’, are struggling as they cater to a user base with thin credit bureau history.
CRED’s ‘Tap To Pay’ feature will allow its users to make payments through their credit cards with their phones with a tap on the terminal machine. The feature will be rolled out first to NFC-enabled Android smartphones and the users will require members to unlock their phones before they tap on the merchant’s PoS machine.