Fintech flashpoint: How ZestMoney's collapse mirrors the turbulence in the industry

Fintech flashpoint: How ZestMoney's collapse mirrors the turbulence in the industry

Image credit: Illustration by Salman via AI

Synopsis

ZestMoney's fall to death from USD440 million valuation in a matter of a year puts question marks on the poor loan recovery among fintech lenders. What is in store for the BNPL platforms which rapidly expanded on the back of unsecured loans?

On December 5th evening, ZestMoney's top leadership convened a crucial town hall meeting. In a startling announcement, they declared that the fintech startup would cease operations by December 31. They informed the staff that all lending activities would stop and advised them to seek new employment opportunities. Now, e-mails to the official IDs of the company’s CXOs bounce back with ‘delivery failure’ notifications. These were the tragic end

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