BharatPe has launched “Pay Later with BharatPe”, a credit-on-UPI product developed in partnership with YES Bank and deployed on the BharatPe UPI platform using National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) infrastructure. The move expands BharatPe’s offerings beyond payments, targeting short-term, flexible credit needs of consumers and small businesses.
Making credit accessible through UPI
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is central to India’s digital payments ecosystem, processing billions of transactions monthly. Despite this scale, instant credit availability via UPI has been limited for many users. Pay Later with BharatPe aims to close that gap by providing a pre-sanctioned digital credit line that can be used across UPI acceptance points.
The onboarding and disbursal process is fully digital: once approved, users receive an instant credit limit usable for in-store purchases, online shopping, bill payments and mobile recharges. This removes paperwork and lengthy approval cycles that often deter first-time borrowers and small merchants.
Interest-free period and flexible repayments
The product includes an interest-free window of up to 45 days, allowing customers short-term liquidity without immediate interest charges. After this period, borrowers can either repay the outstanding amount in full or convert it into equated monthly instalments (EMIs).
EMI tenures range from three to 12 months, providing options aligned with users’ cash flows. All account details — available limit, transaction history, repayment schedule and outstanding dues — are visible within the BharatPe UPI app to ensure transparency and user control.
YES Bank’s role in the credit framework
YES Bank underwrites and enables the credit facility, bringing its digital banking and lending infrastructure to bear on onboarding, credit assessment and regulatory compliance. The partnership pairs BharatPe’s distribution through its UPI user base with YES Bank’s lending capabilities to create a scalable, compliant credit-delivery model.
Rewards to drive adoption
BharatPe has integrated its UPI Rewards programme with the Pay Later feature. Users who transact through the BharatPe app can earn Zillion coins, which are redeemable for vouchers, merchandise or utility bill payments. This rewards-led approach provides an incentive for customers to migrate routine UPI payments to the BharatPe platform and try the Pay Later option.
Broader strategic context
The launch supports BharatPe’s ambition to build a full-stack fintech ecosystem that extends beyond merchant services and payments to include embedded credit solutions. By offering credit directly on UPI, BharatPe targets consumers and small businesses seeking immediate, short-term liquidity without depending solely on traditional lending channels.
As more players enter the credit-on-UPI market, partnerships between fintechs and banks are likely to shape product design, risk frameworks and regulatory compliance. Pay Later with BharatPe underscores how fintechs and banks can collaborate to widen access to flexible, short-duration credit aligned with everyday payment behavior in India.
