Secondary & Industry Research

Indian Digital Lending Landscape

India’s digital lending ecosystem has grown rapidly over the last decade, driven by smartphone penetration, UPI adoption, and a young, credit-hungry population. According to RBI and industry reports, over 60% of first-time borrowers in India are under the age of 35, many of whom lack formal credit histories and rely on instant credit apps to manage short-term cash flow.

However, this growth has also exposed structural gaps:

• Lending products are often transaction-focused, not relationship-driven

• Users struggle to understand interest rates, repayment timelines, and total cost of borrowing

• Financial products prioritize credit limits over financial clarity

• Many users juggle 3–5 finance apps for borrowing, payments, and tracking expenses

This fragmentation increases stress and reduces trust especially among young earners and first-time borrowers.

Shift from “Credit First” to “Confidence First”

Market research across fintech and consumer lending shows a clear shift in user expectations:

• Users are no longer optimizing only for maximum credit

• They increasingly value:

  • Predictability over flexibility

  • Clarity over complexity

  • Control over aggressive upselling

Studies indicate that users who understand repayment behavior, spending patterns, and future impact are more likely to:

• Repay on time

• Reuse the platform

• Trust the brand long term

This positions design not just as an interface layer, but as a risk mitigation and retention tool.

FinTech Behavior Trends Among Young Indians

Secondary research across fintech platforms revealed consistent behavioral patterns:

• Credit is often used for lifestyle smoothing, not emergencies alone

• Users think in moments, not financial products

• Financial anxiety is high

This reinforced the need for low-cognitive-load design and contextual guidance rather than feature-heavy dashboards.

To ground Zype in real financial behavior we mapped Jobs To Be Done across multiple everyday money moments. Instead of designing features in isolation, we looked at why, when, and for what outcome users turn to credit and financial tools.

We identified and documented JTBDs across key categories including Credit & Shopping, Emergency Credit, Splitting Expenses, Budgeting & Analyzing, Everyday Shopping, and Gifting. Each category captured distinct situations users find themselves in, the motivation behind their actions, and the outcome they are trying to achieve.

This approach helped us move beyond “loan use cases” and design for broader lifestyle needs whether it was managing end-of-month cash flow, handling emergencies, tracking spending, or making thoughtful purchases. Below are a few representative examples that informed core product decisions, flows, and feature prioritization.

Defining the Opportunity

Users want
• instant liquidity
• simple repayment plans
• spending clarity
• personalized insights
• lower cognitive load
• a trustworthy partner for both emergencies and lifestyle goals

Opportunity Statement

Create a borrowing ecosystem that supports a user’s entire financial life from borrowing to spending to analyzing to investing.