Flipkart Pay Later

Building consumer finance products for next half billion internet users.

After the successful launch of the Flipkart’s co-branded credit card, I set my eyes on another consumer finance offering - Flipkart Pay Later, a payment method that allows consumers to pay for their purchases on the platform at a later date. This payment option was designed to make it easier for consumers, particularly those from tier-2 cities and beyond, to purchase products on Flipkart, especially if they don't have the funds available to pay for their purchases upfront.

While the Indian e-commerce industry was growing rapidly, leading to a surge in credit consumption, this created a lucrative opportunity for disruption as the demand for such products was already strong. To meet the growing demand, micro-consumer durable loans products such as Flipkart Pay Later have come to the forefront, offering customers the chance to purchase high-end products at zero interest rates. This changed the landscape of credit consumption and pushed consumers to choose products of a higher grade than they would have aspired to previously. With the introduction of these products, customers have been able to access a range of items that they may have previously not been able to purchase due to financial constraints. Moreover, these products have also allowed customers to spread their payments over a longer period of time, making it easier for them to manage their finances. The growth of micro-consumer durable loans products is thus a major driving force behind the increasing adoption of credit consumption in India.

While leading the product design for our lending products such as Pay Later, Advanz EMIs, and a new strategic initiative Advanz app, I had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects to reach more customers and scale across their journey from customer acquisition, underwriting, disbursement, to repayments. Our product team (product managers, user researchers, and I) also traveled to Delhi and Bareilly for a foundational study to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of people in these emerging Indian cities with loan applications and banking. Even after having lived most of my life in India, I was astonished to discover the considerable differences between the lifestyles and problems faced by people in these cities versus those of early internet adopters in tier-1 cities. The latter are the driving force behind India's growth and development in the next decade and beyond. Consequently, it was important for us to gain a thorough understanding of the needs of people in these emerging markets, their preferences, and the problems they face in their day-to-day lives. With this knowledge, we headed back to design the Advanz App that was tailored to their unique requirements and help them progress and benefit from the advancements in financial technology.

My efforts, in collaboration with the amazing product managers, engineers, and marketers I partnered with, paid off, as we managed to acquire 1 million+ customers on Flipkart Pay Later and increased its checkout adoption rate from 7% to 18% during my tenure. During my time working on various facets of this product, I was also able to take part in design workshops, evangelize the new product line to Flipkart’s leadership, scale design operations within the team, and receive product management mentorship from my product group’s GPM. All these experiences have allowed me to gain an in-depth understanding of the problem space and build skin in the game.

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