Slice’s Winning Streak: Matching HDFC’s Scale, Powering Up for an IPO Blitz

Slice, the new fintech bank, has hit the milestone of equivalent size to HDFC Bank's 300,000 or more new account openings per month, marking it as an upper-tier player in Indian banking. Founder Rajan Bajaj has verified that Slice is opening around 300,000 new accounts per month, placing it among the top 5-7 banks in the country in terms of acquiring new customers—a milestone that was hitherto the preserve of India's high-end private banks like HDFC.

 

Key Highlights

Rapid Expansion Post-Merger: Ever since its merger with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) in October 2024, Slice has doubled its deposits and is now a full-fledged bank, owning all pieces of bank infrastructure.

 

Profitability Achieved: Slice Small Finance Bank turned profitable two months back and will be reporting net profits this quarter, whereas NESFB has reported losses for FY24.

 

Innovative Digital Banking: Slice's UPI-first accounts have no annual fees or minimum balance conditions, daily interest payouts, and end-to-end digital onboarding. Its UPI-enabled ATMs and RuPay-backed credit cards are targeted at India's digitally aware, credit-starved masses.

 

Customer Base Expansion: The customer base of the bank consists mainly of freelance and salaried employees, 60-70% of whom are from non-metro areas and are 30-32 years of age on average.

 

Aggressive Tech Drive and Branch: Slice is opening digital metro branches and targeting doubling its physical and digital presence, reaching over 70 million customers by FY30 from 11 million today.

 

Fundraising and IPO Plans: The company is in talks to raise $250-300 million to drive its growth and is contemplating a public listing in the next 3-4 years.

 

Merchant Banking Plans: Slice will provide a merchant lending and settlement platform that competes directly with fintech rivals like BharatPe.

 

Founder's Pledge: Bajaj Founder Rajan Bajaj invested Rs 71.7 crore of his own funds in the company recently, highlighting belief in the growth trajectory of Slice.

 

"Our bank account is attracting digitally savvy customers because it's mobile phone-based—you do not have to go to branches or take calls. It is all self-service, but highly usable, which is the reason we are attracting 3 lakh customers each month," said Rajan Bajaj.

 

With digital-first, innovative products, and fast growth, Slice is changing the face of what it means to be a contemporary Indian lender. 

 

Source: Moneycontrol, Economic Times, Pocketful.in, MarketsMojo.