Sachin Bansal, one of India’s top internet entrepreneurs and investors, may be a step closer to his ambition of reimagining the banking sector in India, years after he disrupted the online shopping space when he co-founded Flipkart, which is now owned by Walmart.
Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Limited, which Bansal acquired last year, is among the applicants for a Universal Bank Licence, according to the list of applicants released by the RBI.
Bansal, who co-founded Navi technologies with Ankit Agarwal after leaving Flipkart, wants to build a financial services platform that offers loans, insurance, and mutual funds. He also plans to partner with existing players in the payments space.
He has been making various bets in the financial services space since then. One of them is microlender Chaitanya India Fin Credit, which he acquired for Rs 739 crore in September last year.
Bansal had earlier said that building a universal bank is a reflection of the lender’s commitment to providing financial services to those who need them. Bansal plans to disrupt financial services by using technology that people can use easily and intuitively.
The RBI on April 15 released names of applicants under the guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of Universal Banks and Small Finance Banks in the private sector. Applicants under Guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of Universal Banks include UAE Exchange and Financial Services Limited, The Repatriates Cooperative Finance and Development Bank Limited (REPCO Bank), Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Limited, Shri Pankaj Vaish and others, the RBI said.
Applicants under Guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of Small Finance Banks include VSoft Technologies Private Limited, Calicut City Service Co-operative Bank Limited, Shri Akhil Kumar Gupta and Dvara Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services Private Limited, the RBI said.
An RBI panel will review the applications now.
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