ICICI Bank has announced that it has partnered with Flipkart to offer an instant and completely digital overdraft (OD) facility of up to Rs. 25 lakh to individual sellers and businesses registered on the e-commerce platform.
“Enabled by API integration, the partnership helps sellers to avail an OD from the Bank instantly in a process, from application to sanction to disbursement – that is entirely digital,” the statement said.
Customers of any bank can avail of ODs from ICICI Bank if they are registered as sellers with Flipkart.
ICICI Bank leverages advanced data analytics to develop an industry-first scorecard that helps it evaluate the creditworthiness of the sellers instantly. The new credit assessment method does away with the traditional process that involves examining paper-intensive bank statements and income tax returns.
“This method helps the sellers who are ‘new-to-credit’ as well as existing Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) borrowers to unlock the value of their digital transactions and get access to instant credit,” it added.
Sellers having a current account with ICICI Bank can immediately start using the OD to meet their working capital requirements. Customers of other banks can avail of the OD by simply opening a current account with ICICI Bank digitally, post KYC verification.
Speaking on the partnership, Pankaj Gadgil, Head of Self Employed Segment, SME & Merchant Ecosystem, ICICI Bank said, “At ICICI Bank, we understand that timely credit and ease of doing business are important factors for functioning and growth of MSME businesses. With this partnership, sellers registered with Flipkart can avail instant OD of up to Rs. 25 lakh, in a completely digital manner and start using it immediately. The quick processing of the OD facility has been made possible by a specially developed scorecard for credit assessment of the sellers.”
“This new and improved process helps individual sellers and businesses who may otherwise not get access to adequate credit when assessed in the traditional way of using only balance sheets, bank statements, and tax returns. We believe that this new proposition resonates with our effort in developing path-breaking innovations for MSME customers and will empower them with new avenues of business expansion,” Gadgil added.
Speaking on the development, Dheeraj Aneja, Senior Vice President – Fintech and Payments Group, Flipkart said, “As sellers and MSME partners from across the country continue to put their trust in Flipkart marketplace, we want to ensure that our efforts to enable their business growth entails financial support as well. Flipkart has been working towards the financial independence of its sellers through its dedicated program – Growth Capital and continues to evolve it based on market requirements. The introduction of a digital process to avail an OD, in partnership with ICICI Bank, is another step in the direction of providing the necessary support that can help fulfill the ambitions and aspirations of our sellers.”