Slice Small Finance Bank

Last updated
Slice Small Finance Bank
Company type Private
Industry Small finance bank
Financial technology
PredecessorsSlice
North East Small Finance Bank
FoundedJanuary 2016;9 years ago (2016-01)
FounderRajan Bajaj
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (corporate)
Guwahati, Assam, India (registered)
Area served
India
Key people
  • Satish Kumar Kalra (Managing Director & CEO) [1]
  • Rajan Bajaj (Founder & Executive Director) [2]
Website www.slice.bank.in

Slice Small Finance Bank is an Indian small finance bank based in Bengaluru. It was formed as a result of the merger between fintech company Slice and North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB). [3]

Contents

History

Slice

Slice was founded in January 2016 as SlicePay, a fintech company offering buy now, pay later and credit lines for students and young professionals. [4] [5] [6] In January 2019, the company received a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). [7] Later that year, Slice launched its prepaid card in partnership with Visa and SBM Bank India. [8]

In November 2021, Slice became a unicorn company, after raising about $220 million. [9] By mid-2022, it was reportedly issuing over 300,000 prepaid cards per month, [10] [11] having positioned itself as a credit card challenger. [12] [13] However, after the RBI's June 2022 directive barring NBFC companies from issuing credit lines on prepaid payment instruments, the company discontinued prepaid cards to comply with the new norms. [14] [15]

NESFB merger

North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) was established in July 2016, and was one of the 10 financial institutions to be granted a small finance bank license by the RBI in 2015. [16] [17]

In October 2023, Slice announced that it would merge with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB), marking the first instance of a fintech company merging with a bank in India. [18] [19] [20] [21] The merger was completed in October 2024 after regulatory scrutiny. [22] [23] [24] [25] The merged entity was renamed as Slice Small Finance Bank in May 2025. [26] [27]

Funding

As of December 2024, Slice has raised $387 million in funding across multiple rounds from investors such as Tiger Global, Insight Partners, and Blume Ventures. [28]

See also

References

  1. Singh, Arti (25 December 2023). "Slice names ex-Andhra Bank CEO Satish Kalra as North East SFB's interim chief". Mint . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  2. Mishra, Digbijay (27 January 2025). "Slice Bank in talks to raise $250 million to expand its digital banking operations". The Economic Times . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  3. Karthik, Hamsini (8 October 2023). "slice-North East SFB merger — an unusual marriage". The Hindu Business Line . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  4. Bhakta, Pratik (1 December 2021). "High risk, high reward: Slice's bet in millennial credit space". The CapTable. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  5. Sanghvi, Disha (28 August 2019). "Easy credit can derail students' money lives". Mint . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  6. Abrar, Peerzada (24 May 2021). "Slice, credit provider for young professionals, eyes $1 bn gross transactions". Business Standard . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  7. Tripathi, Dhirendra (25 January 2019). "Student microfinancing start-up SlicePay gets RBI licence for NBFC play". Mint . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  8. Singh, Rajiv (1 December 2021). "Fintech, Slice: Slam Dunk: Can Rajan Bajaj grab a big slice of the fintech pie?". Forbes India . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  9. Rai, Saritha (28 November 2021). "Tiger Global Helps Make Credit-Card Startup Newest India Unicorn". Bloomberg News . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  10. Noronha, Gaurav (24 April 2023). "Once invincible, Slice finds itself trapped between banks, regulators, and products". The Ken . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  11. Malik, Bismah (14 July 2022). "Slice's Existential Threat — Can Fintech Unicorn's Shaky Business Model Survive RBI's PPI Notification?". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  12. Nair, Vishwanath (11 October 2023). "How Slice Scored A Bank License From RBI". NDTV . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  13. Kalra, Jaspreet (25 January 2022). "Lending is easy for Slice, making money isn't". The Ken . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  14. "Slice pivots to real-time term loans after new RBI guidelines". The Hindu Business Line . 20 July 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  15. Panchal, Salil (10 October 2023). "The Slice-NE SFB merger shakes up banking landscape". Forbes India . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  16. "North East Small Finance Bank Limited". CRISIL . 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  17. Agrawal, Amol (23 October 2023). "RBI should allow large and profitable fintechs to become small finance banks". Moneycontrol . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  18. Singh, Ritu (4 October 2023). "Fintech slice gets rare RBI nod to merge with North East Small Finance Bank". CNBC TV18 . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  19. Noronha, Gaurav (9 October 2023). "Slice proves RBI can love fintechs, after all". The Ken . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  20. Kayastha, Anshika (6 October 2023). "Merger of North-East SFB and slice: RBI kills two birds with one stone". The Hindu Business Line . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  21. Dethe, Amol (6 October 2023). "Slice gives hope to FinTechs to become banks". The Economic Times . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  22. Singh, Manish (28 October 2024). "Indian fintech Slice seals bank merger". TechCrunch . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  23. Moharkan, Furquan; Manikandan, Ashwin (11 October 2023). "RBI sets a tough test for Slice-NESFB merger". The Morning Context. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  24. Kawale, Ajinkya; Saha, Manojit (4 October 2023). "A 'Slice' of lifeline: Fintech firm to infuse capital in North East SFB". Business Standard . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  25. Kumar, Sachin (6 October 2023). "Slice model won't be template for future SFB licences". The Financial Express . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  26. Banthia, Jyoti (27 January 2025). "slice Small Finance Bank Limited (slice SFB) emerges as India's first fintech bank post merger with NESFB, focusing on expansion". The Hindu Business Line . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  27. Dubey, Navneet (21 May 2025). "North East Small Finance Bank renamed to slice Small Finance Bank; RBI issues notification". Fortune India . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  28. "The 51 most disruptive startups of 2024". TechCrunch . 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2025.