This CRED company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. CRED works in fintech, with a focus on credit card payments, rewards and lending. It was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Its latest valuation on record is US$4.5 billion (post-money) (June 2026). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.
Revenue
₹2,735 crore operating revenue, up 16% from ₹2,473 crore — Consolidated operating revenue, FY2025 (company-reported), as of FY2025. Source: YourStory.
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net loss | ₹1,457 crore, down 11.5%; operating loss roughly halved to ₹298 crore | FY2025 | YourStory |
| Members and reach | 17 million members a month; more than 40% of India's credit card bill payments | June 2026 | Investment Monitor |
Funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 | Series H (primary and secondary) | About US$900M | US$4.5B post-money | Meta | Investment Monitor |
CRED timeline
Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.
- 2018 — CRED is founded in Bengaluru by Kunal Shah.
- Jun 2026 — Series H (primary and secondary): About US$900M, valuing the company at US$4.5B post-money. Investors: Meta.
- FY2025 — Net loss: ₹1,457 crore, down 11.5%; operating loss roughly halved to ₹298 crore.
- June 2026 — Members and reach: 17 million members a month; more than 40% of India's credit card bill payments.
Investors
Overview
CRED is an Indian fintech app built around credit card owners. It started with a simple offer: pay your credit card bill through CRED and earn rewards. Because it only accepted members with good credit scores, it attracted a valuable, affluent user base, and it has since built a wide range of products for them: UPI payments, loans, rent and utility payments, insurance, investments, a shopping store and car services. CRED says 17 million members use it each month and that it handles more than 40% of credit card bill payments in India.
Kunal Shah founded CRED in Bengaluru in 2018. He had earlier co-founded FreeCharge, a payments app sold to Snapdeal in 2015, and is one of India's best-known angel investors. In June 2026, Shah was appointed global head of WhatsApp at Meta as part of a deal in which Meta invested in CRED. Miten Sampat, who had overseen strategy and finance since 2020, became interim CEO.
How CRED makes money
CRED earns money in several ways:
- Lending: its largest opportunity. CRED Cash and other credit products connect members with partner banks and lenders. CRED manages about ₹24,000 crore in assets for partner financial institutions.
- Payments: fees from merchants and partners, and income from bill payments and UPI.
- Commerce and services: commissions on purchases through its store and services such as car maintenance.
- Brand partnerships: brands pay to reach CRED's affluent members through rewards and offers.
The strategy is sometimes described as a "walled garden": attract the most creditworthy consumers, then earn money by offering them more financial products over time.
FY25 results
For the year to March 2025, CRED reported:
- Operating revenue: ₹2,735 crore, up 16% from ₹2,473 crore.
- Operating loss: roughly halved to ₹298 crore.
- Net loss: ₹1,457 crore, down 11.5%, with non-operating costs such as employee stock options making up much of the gap.
Shah said CRED posted its first profitable quarter in the January to March period. It hasn't yet reported a full profitable year. Different data providers report slightly different figures because of how they treat consolidated accounts; we use the company-reported numbers.
The Meta deal
In June 2026, Meta agreed to invest about US$900 million in CRED through a mix of new shares and purchases from existing shareholders, in what was described as a Series H round. The deal valued CRED at about US$4.5 billion post-money. Reports put Meta's stake at roughly 20%, a minority holding, and CRED said Meta would not have access to its customer data. At the same time, Meta appointed Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp globally, succeeding Will Cathcart. Shah resigned from CRED's board and promoter role but kept his personal stake.
Valuation history
CRED's valuation peaked at US$6.4 billion in 2022, at the height of the startup funding boom. A 2025 funding round valued it at about US$3.5 billion, a significant reset. Meta's investment lifted it to US$4.5 billion, still about 30% below the peak. Like many startups that raised in 2021 and 2022, CRED's recent history shows the effect of the market correction. See our guide to down rounds.
Competitive landscape
CRED competes with UPI payment apps such as PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm, banks' own apps, and lending fintechs. Its distinctive position is its affluent, creditworthy user base. The challenge is turning that base into profitable revenue, since many members use CRED for free rewards rather than paid products.
What to watch next
Watch whether CRED reaches full-year profitability, growth of its lending business, leadership after Shah's departure, how the relationship with Meta and WhatsApp develops, and IPO plans, which the company has said it is working towards.
Key facts at a glance
CRED is a Bengaluru fintech founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah. It reported FY25 operating revenue of ₹2,735 crore, up 16%, and a net loss of ₹1,457 crore. Meta invested about US$900 million in June 2026 at a US$4.5 billion post-money valuation, and Shah left to lead WhatsApp. CRED says it has 17 million monthly members and handles more than 40% of India's credit card bill payments.
Why affluent users are valuable in India
India has hundreds of millions of digital payment users, but a much smaller number of people with credit cards and strong credit histories. Those users spend more, borrow more responsibly and are attractive to banks, brands and insurers. A platform that concentrates them can charge partners more for access and offer higher-value products. That's the logic behind CRED's membership approach, and why its user base has been valued highly even while the company was losing money.
Strategic investors and founder moves
Meta's investment combined capital with a leadership change: the founder moving to run one of the investor's biggest products. Arrangements like this are rare. They bring capital and a powerful partner, but they also raise questions about the company's future leadership and independence. For employees and other investors, the key issues are who leads next, and whether the strategic relationship creates commercial benefits, such as distribution through WhatsApp, without compromising customer trust.
Questions to ask about any rewards-led fintech
- What share of revenue comes from paid financial products, rather than brand marketing budgets?
- How many members use the lending or insurance products, not just the free rewards?
- How much does the company spend on rewards and cashback to keep users engaged?
- Is it profitable for a full year, or only in a single strong quarter?
These questions apply to many consumer fintechs that grew by offering incentives. The answers show whether the user base has been turned into a sustainable business. Our guide to finding private company revenue explains how filings with India's Registrar of Companies can help answer them.
What this means if you're…
An Indian consumer: rewards apps can add value, but compare loan rates and fees with your bank's offers.
A fintech founder: CRED shows the value of a high-quality user base, and how long it can take to monetise one.
An investor: compare the US$4.5 billion valuation with the 2022 peak and the path to full-year profit.
Latest developments (October 2026)
CRED's June 2026 Series H was led by Meta, which invested about US$900 million in a mix of new and existing shares for a stake of about 20%, valuing CRED at about US$4.5 billion, according to FinTech Futures and Inc42. At the same time, founder Kunal Shah left the CEO role to lead WhatsApp at Meta, and Miten Sampat, CRED's head of strategy and finance, became interim chief executive. CRED said Meta would not receive access to customer data and that the board was working toward an eventual IPO. CRED says it processes more than 40% of Indian credit card bill payments.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.
Frequently asked questions
What does CRED do?
CRED is a fintech / credit card payments, rewards and lending company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. It was founded in 2018.
What is CRED's valuation?
CRED was valued at US$4.5 billion (post-money) as of June 2026, according to Investment Monitor. Private company valuations are set at funding rounds or share sales and can change significantly between them.
How much revenue does CRED make?
CRED reported ₹2,735 crore operating revenue, up 16% from ₹2,473 crore (consolidated operating revenue, fy2025 (company-reported)) as of FY2025, according to YourStory.
What was CRED's latest funding round?
The most recent financing we have verified is a series h (primary and secondary) in Jun 2026: About US$900M, at a valuation of US$4.5B post-money. Source: Investment Monitor.
Who are CRED's investors?
Investors named in public announcements include Meta.
Who founded CRED?
CRED was founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah.
Is CRED a public company?
No. CRED is a private company (private, venture backed), so its shares are not traded on a stock exchange and it isn't required to publish its financial results.
Where is CRED headquartered?
CRED is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.