Should Bajaj Finance launch Insta EMI Card credit on UPI through Bajaj Pay, and how?

Introduction

The Insta EMI Card is one of Bajaj Finance's most valuable assets: a pre-approved, reusable EMI limit that works at a huge network of offline and online merchants. But the way Indians pay is changing. UPI is now the default for almost every payment, RBI allows pre-sanctioned credit lines and RuPay credit cards to be linked to UPI, and payment apps such as PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm are bringing partner-lender credit directly into the payment screen.

The prompt: what should Bajaj Finance's strategy be for the Insta EMI Card as credit moves onto UPI? Should it launch an EMI credit line on UPI through Bajaj Pay, and how?

Key business objectives:

1. Protect and grow the consumer durable and EMI Card franchise
2. Stay present at the moment of payment, which is increasingly UPI
3. Maintain credit quality and pricing power
4. Strengthen Bajaj Pay as a reason to open the Bajaj Finserv app

Approach: clarify goals, analyse market and competitors, define vision and roadmap, prioritise, plan execution, set metrics, manage risks.

Step 1

Clarify the Strategic Goals (3-4 minutes)

• Is the concern defensive (losing EMI share to UPI credit) or offensive (reaching new merchants through UPI)?

Why it matters: Defence favours existing cardholders; offence favours new merchant categories. Hypothetical answer: Primarily defensive, with offensive upside.

• Are we seeing evidence of share loss?

Hypothetical answer: Growth in EMI Card usage at small merchants has slowed, while UPI payments in those categories have grown fast. Impact: Small merchants are where the threat is real.

• Must the Bajaj Finserv app be the front end, or can we distribute through other UPI apps?

Hypothetical answer: Open question. Leadership wants to know the trade-offs.

• What is the time horizon?

Hypothetical answer: A pilot in 6 months; scale within 18 months.

Framing: the goal is to make Bajaj credit available wherever a customer pays by UPI, without giving up the merchant relationships and economics that make the Insta EMI Card profitable.