On September 2, the Indian Premier League Governing Council announced CRED an Official Partner for the IPL. The Dream11 IPL began on September 19 in the UAE and we have since been seing CRED ads on our TV screen during breaks.
The company has also roped in Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Bappi Lahiri among others for its quircky advertisements. The ads, however, do not explain what CRED is and how it works.
Earlier, actor Jim Sarbh was the brand ambassador the company and his ads explaining the app usually appeared on YouTube.
If you are wondering what CRED is and how it works, you are at the right place.
What is CRED?
The company describes itself as a members-only club that "rewards individuals for their timely credit card bill payments by providing them with exclusive offers and access to premium experiences."
The app allows credit card users to manage multiple cards, pay bills on time and get rewards. It also offers an analysis of their credit score and bills and tells you how you have been using your credit card. It sends you reminders on your due payment as well.
How to apply for a CRED membership?
Not everyone with a credit card can download and register on the app as it requires users to have a minimum Experian or CRIF score.
On downloading the app, you have to enter your name and mobile number. The app checks your credit card details, finds out your credit score and allows you to move forwards after you are found fulfilling the criteria. You can then list all your credit cards, provide access to your monthly statement by giving permission to read your emails.
How it works?
As you have provided CRED access to your mails, details of your monthly credit card bills appear on the app as soon as you receive the statemnet. CRED also sends you analysis of spend tracking and efficiency of usage of the card.
You can pay bills on the app from yiur bank account using UPI. On paying the credit card bill, you recieve credits which you can use to get cashbacks and avail offers by CRED ppartners.
Pay rent
You can also pay your rent using your credit card, a facility available at a small processing fee. To pay rent, we ususally use cash and there is hardly any app which lets you do that from credit card. Although, CRED charges a small amount for it, you recive some of it back in form of cashback on paying the credit card bill.
Rewards
To get the cashback you need to pay bill of minimum Rs 1,000. On paying a bill of Rs 5,000 or more, you get two cashback options. You have to use the credit you received on paying the bill to avail the cashback. On paying a bill of upward of Rs 20,000, three cashback options are open.
You can also use the credits to avail promotional offers like access to events, experiences, gift cards and discounts from various brands.
Expert take
Alekhya Boora, co-founder Ripsey and a former investment banker, said CRED has a first-mover advantage in an otherwise less focused segment.
"Yes, its value add is that it reminds you to pay bills on time and gives you rewards for good behaviour. There are other brands which do this other spaces. Some fitness apps like Charity Miles, Gympact, Sweatcoin, Dietbet, etcgives you rewards if you do x mins of workout," she said.
Boora, who worked with UBS and PWC before turning an entrepreneur, added, "These reward platforms can make money from the brands as opposed to the consumer. So for a consumer, they are a "free" or "bonus" for something they anyways do. For brands, it gives them access to a new advertising platform to acquire said consumers. For example, if Bose starts advertising with Cred and gives you 10K points to redeem against a 30K purchase, I would definitely use CRED!"
