Flipkart Wholesale brings in credit programmes | Economic Times

Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of the Walmart-owned company, on Tuesday announced a new credit programme to help kiranas manage their working capital requirements and grow their business. Flipkart Wholesale's credit offerings, including 'Easy Credit' in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank, are in line with a series of initiatives undertaken to solve local pain points of kiranas in the country, according to a statement. Through these new offerings, kiranas (neighbourhood mom-and-pop stores) can avail credit at zero cost through end-to-end digital onboarding in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank and other fintech institutions, it added. The credit line will range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 2 lakh with an interest-free period of up to 14 days. Adarsh Menon, senior vice-president and head of Flipkart Wholesale, said the key goal for the company is to make business easier for kiranas and retailers and boost their growth journey. "We believe our new credit plan is tailored to solve local challenges that kiranas in India face and will help them manage their cash flow and improve their purchase experience on our platform, thereby ensuring that the benefits of digitisation trickle to the entire B2B retail ecosystem," he added. Flipkart Wholesale serves over 1.5 million members across the country that include kiranas/retailers, HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and cafeterias) and O&I (offices and institutions). "India's kirana stores account for over two-thirds of the country's retail landscape. This traditional trade is now evolving in terms of retail formats and business models. "As a bank with a digital-first approach and focus on serving the retail ecosystem, we are keen to contribute to the growth of this segment," Amit Kumar, head (retail liabilities and branch banking) at IDFC FIRST Bank, said. The partnership with Flipkart gives the bank an opportunity to enable kiranas to access formal credit and scale up business, he added.