Cred is an Indian financial services and consumer technology company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It operates a members-only mobile platform that began as a credit card bill payment service and has since expanded into adjacent financial products, including credit-based lending, payments, and rewards. The company is owned and operated by Dreamplug Technologies Private Limited.
| Type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services, fintech |
| Founder | Kunal Shah |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India |
| Legal entity | Dreamplug Technologies Private Limited |
| Country | India |
Cred was founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah, an Indian entrepreneur previously known for co-founding the payments company Freecharge, which was acquired by Snapdeal in 2015. Cred was launched with a focus on serving credit card holders in India, positioning itself as a curated platform that admits members based on credit score thresholds.
The platform's initial proposition was to allow users to pay credit card bills through the app while earning reward points, branded as "CRED coins", which could be redeemed against offers from partner brands. Over time, the company added a marketplace for products and experiences targeted at higher-income consumers.
Cred became widely recognised in India for its advertising campaigns, particularly during the Indian Premier League (IPL), where the company was an associate sponsor. Its commercials, often featuring well-known public figures and former cricketers in self-deprecating roles, drew significant public attention and contributed to broad consumer awareness of the brand.
Cred is among the prominent consumer-facing fintech companies to emerge from India's start-up ecosystem in the late 2010s. It is frequently cited in discussions of India's digital lending and payments landscape, and as an example of a platform targeting affluent and credit-active consumers rather than the broader mass market that characterises much of Indian fintech.