Fintech company Kiwi has announced the launch of interest-back EMI on UPI, enabling consumers to convert high-value purchases into instalments and receive a part or full interest refund as cashback.
The newly added capability comes just before the Diwali season, a period when festive spending across several categories, including electronics, gold, home appliances, and travel, usually increases. According to recent data, in 2024, India’s festive spending grew substantially, with ecommerce contributing exponentially to this during the Diwali week. Additionally, a large number of high-ticket purchases were conducted using equated monthly instalment (EMI) or pay-later options.
Kiwi’s offering for the Indian market
Even if traditional EMI plans support consumers in managing affordability, they also usually involve additional interest costs. With its interest-back EMI, Kiwi intends to address this by offering cashback on the interest paid. Under this offering, a three-month EMI provides 100% interest cashback, while six- and nine-month EMIs deliver 50% cashback.
Kiwi’s new solution is available at any UPI-enabled merchant, with users being able to scan a QR code or make an online payment, choose ‘Pay with EMI’ via the Kiwi app, authenticate through UPI PIN, and obtain instant cashback. The capability does not require a physical card and is developed to facilitate transparency and a mobile-focused experience.
Furthermore, providing EMIs on UPI is set to support Kiwi in scaling access to structured credit beyond traditional credit card users. With this launch, the company seeks to make high-ticket purchases more accessible and to deliver an alternative to credit card-based EMIs.
Kiwi’s funding round
Kiwi’s expansion was supported by the company’s recent USD 24 million capital raise from new and existing investors, marking its first funding round in almost two years. The announcement was made just at the end of August 2025, with the funding round being led by Vertex Ventures South East Asia & India. At that time, Kiwi planned to direct the money toward its growth strategy and product roadmap. Additionally, the company aimed to utilise the capital to solidify its efforts in achieving sustainable unit economics.
