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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
The loan aggregator keeps sending updates on WhatsApp even to users who haven’t applied for a loan. The company is exploiting a grey area in India’s telecom regulatory framework and WhatsApp’s policies.
If Buddha encountered the nuisance inflicted by Finance Buddha, a loan spammer, he’d likely renounce the world all over again. Largely out of spite for the trickery being carried out in his revered name.
Every day, thousands of users wake up to WhatsApp messages like these: “Dear Applicant, Your Rs 7 Lakh Personal Loan Process stands at the Onboarding stage. Consent is required to proceed further. Thank you Team Finance Buddha.”
The problem is that none of the message recipients have applied for these loans. If the loan application doesn’t exist, it’s obvious that no one ever gave their consent …
The fintech is gearing up to go public at a $5-6 billion valuation. Much like beauty, value lies in the eyes of the beholder, but public markets are rightly cross at obscene startup valuations.
Its Rs 1,050 crore bet on the five-year-old company—valued at an implied 11.2x revenue multiple and a promoter with baggage—raises serious questions around due diligence.
The fintech’s NBFC has seen its loan book decline by 92% in just two years and its global ambition has come undone. The company, though, keeps borrowing, restructuring and diversifying.
