Fintech platform Happay, which is owned by CRED, has undergone a significant workforce reduction of approximately 35%, according to sources familiar with the matter.
On Friday, May 12, 2023, employees were informed about the restructuring by their respective managers. Happay, a business expense, payments, and travel management platform, currently boasts a workforce of over 450 employees, indicating that around 160 employees from various departments such as sales, marketing, tech, product, and operations have been let go as part of this exercise.
As part of the severance package, Happay is offering the affected employees three months’ salary and additional benefits, including an extension of insurance coverage and job placement assistance. One source suggests that the restructuring is part of the annual appraisal cycle and is linked to employee performance.
Happay was founded in 2012 by Anshul Rai and Varun Rathi. In December 2021, Happay was acquired by CRED in a cash and stock deal worth $180 million. CRED, founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah, is a platform that offers rewards and benefits to premium credit card users for paying their bills. The acquisition allowed Happay to continue operating as a separate entity, with its employees also receiving rewards under CRED’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) schemes.
CRED has been expanding its services and offerings, including the introduction of a Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based peer-to-peer (P2P) payments system, a curated travel platform called CRED Escapes, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) product called CRED Flash, and various other features to enhance its credit card-centric services.
In the financial year 2022, CRED witnessed a significant increase in total revenue, reaching INR 422 crore, a 4.4-fold rise from INR 95 crore in the previous fiscal year. However, the company’s losses also grew to INR 1,279 crore, a 2.4-fold increase from INR 524 crore. CRED’s marketing expenses rose threefold to INR 975 crore from INR 324 crore in FY21.
Despite the workforce reduction, CRED remains a valued unicorn, with a valuation of $6.4 billion and over $800 million in funding raised since its inception. Notable backers of CRED include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Alpha Wave, Dragoneer Investments, and Singapore’s GIC, which invested $140 million in the company during a Series F funding round.
