Industry Odisha Bureau, Jun 28: Signalling a strategic push into India’s digital payments and commerce, American technology company Meta Platforms has reportedly invested $900 million for a 20% stake in the Bengaluru-based Indian fintech startup CRED, and has also appointed CRED’s founder Kunal Shah as the new global head of WhatsApp.
“By investing $900 million in CRED, Meta Platforms has valued CRED at approximately 4.5 billion and acquired a 20% minority stake. The investment combines primary capital infusion for growth and secondary share purchases from existing investors, though the exact split is undisclosed,” media reports stated.
Media reports added, “Meta will not gain access to CRED’s customer data or a board seat, emphasizing that the strategic value lies in talent acquisition and market positioning rather than direct control over the company.”
Media reports further said, “CRED founder Kunal Shah will step down as CEO of CRED to become the global head of WhatsApp, replacing Will Cathcart.”
Experts reportedly view Shah’s appointment “a strategic move intended to accelerate WhatsApp’s monetization through payments, commerce, subscriptions, and AI-powered services, particularly in India, deemd to be WhatsApp’s largest market. Despite WhatsApp’s massive user base, WhatsApp Pay holds less than 1% of UPI transaction volumes, lagging behind competitors like PhonePe and Google Pay in India.”
Pertinent to note here that, CRED founder Kunal Shah reportedly “possesses an extensive experience in fintech, having previously founded FreeCharge and built CRED into a platform that processes over 40% of India’s credit card bill payments and serves around 17 million monthly users.”
