Slice is a Bengaluru-based small finance bank, formed when the fintech slice merged with North East Small Finance Bank, offering banking and credit services for retail customers.

This Startup Deep Dive explains what Slice does, how it makes money, who backs it, how it compares with rivals and what could go wrong, using publicly available information. It is educational and not investment advice. Last updated: October 2026.

Slice in Brief

• What it is: Slice is an Indian Digital small finance bank company based in Bengaluru.
• Who it serves: consumers, merchants, banks, lenders and enterprises.
• slice began as SlicePay, a buy-now-pay-later platform providing credit lines to students and young professionals, and later issued credit-card style products.
• The fintech merged with North East Small Finance Bank, effective 27 October 2024, and the combined entity operates as slice Small Finance Bank.
• Its portfolio is dominated by digital unsecured personal loans (about 76% of AUM) followed by MSME loans (about 14%), per a rating report as of H1 FY26.
• Funding: About USD 270-291 million raised as a fintech across rounds (reports differ).

Slice Quick Facts

Figures marked “reported” come from published reports and may differ between sources; “Not disclosed” means no reliable public figure was found.

What Is Slice?

Slice operates in the Digital small finance bank space in India. Understanding a company like this starts with three questions: who is the customer, what painful problem is being solved, and why the solution is better than the alternatives. The sections below apply that lens to Slice.

• slice began as SlicePay, a buy-now-pay-later platform providing credit lines to students and young professionals, and later issued credit-card style products.
• The fintech merged with North East Small Finance Bank, effective 27 October 2024, and the combined entity operates as slice Small Finance Bank.
• Its portfolio is dominated by digital unsecured personal loans (about 76% of AUM) followed by MSME loans (about 14%), per a rating report as of H1 FY26.
• Deposits were about Rs 3,896 crore in H1 FY26, up 61% (reported).
• The bank became a small finance bank after the RBI cracked down on its co-branded credit card and BNPL businesses.

The Origin Story of Slice

Every company starts from a noticed gap and a team willing to commit to closing it. Strong origin stories are specific: a clear problem, a founding team with relevant skills, and an early product that real customers could test. Founder-market fit, meaning the team’s lived experience or technical depth in the domain, tends to predict how fast a young company learns.

• Founders: Rajan Bajaj.
• slice was founded in 2016 (as reported earlier) by Rajan Bajaj, a Flipkart alumnus, as SlicePay; its registered entity was Garagepreneurs Internet Pvt Ltd.
• Bajaj was 28 in 2021 and had publicly said he wanted slice to become a unicorn before turning 30.
• The company targeted tech-savvy young professionals with credit cards and pay-in-three-instalments products.
• The NCLT Guwahati bench sanctioned the merger scheme; the RBI had cleared the deal in October 2023.

Key Milestones and Challenges

No startup grows in a straight line. Early years usually involve slow adoption, product rewrites, hiring mistakes and funding gaps. In the Digital small finance bank sector the common turning points are a first paying customer, a regulatory approval, a successful product demonstration or a funding round that lets the team invest ahead of demand. How a team responds to setbacks says more about resilience than any single headline.

• June 2021: Series A of about USD 20 million at roughly a USD 200 million valuation (reported).
• November 2021: USD 220 million Series B co-led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners with Advent International's Sunley House Capital, making slice a unicorn.
• June 2022: USD 50 million Series C led by Tiger Global with Moore Strategic Ventures and Insight Partners.
• October 2024: merger with North East Small Finance Bank completed.
• February 2025: merged entity renamed slice Small Finance Bank (reports differ: one source says May 2025).
• February 2026: RBI approved Rajan Bajaj as MD and CEO of slice Small Finance Bank.
• FY26: first full financial year after the merger ended in a profit.

Slice Funding and Investors

Funding history shows how much outside confidence a company has attracted and how long it can operate before needing more capital. Figures below are reported and may differ between sources; valuation figures are estimates unless the company has confirmed them.

• Series A, 2021: about USD 20 million at about USD 200 million valuation (reported).
• Series B, November 2021: USD 220 million, co-led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners.
• Series C, June 2022: USD 50 million, led by Tiger Global with Moore Strategic Ventures and Insight Partners.
• Reported: aim to raise about USD 300 million in 2025 for pan-India expansion.
• Reported: issuance of compulsory convertible debentures worth about USD 42.5 million, with investors including Blume Ventures.
• Reported: a Rs 485 crore round through compulsorily convertible debentures and partly paid equity shares, including a secondary component.

How Does Slice Make Money? (Business Model)

A business model describes who pays, how often and how much it costs to serve them. Strong models show repeat usage, improving margins with scale and acquisition channels that do not depend only on paid spend. Weak models show one-off sales, rising costs and growth that stops when spending stops. For companies selling to consumers, merchants, banks, lenders and enterprises, sales cycles and contract size matter as much as headline growth.

• As a small finance bank it earns income from lending (interest income) and banking services.
• FY26 interest from loan advances was Rs 890.5 crore, up 149%.
• It funds lending with retail term deposits and CASA, which made up 94.2% of deposits.
• Its pre-merger fintech model earned from card and BNPL products.

The Numbers: Slice Financials

Financial figures show whether growth is turning into a self-sustaining business. Small and private companies often disclose little, so any number below is included only if it was found in public reporting.

• FY26: total income Rs 1,402.7 crore versus Rs 603.8 crore in FY25 (up 132%).
• FY26: net profit Rs 48.4 crore versus a loss of Rs 216.7 crore in FY25; Q4 FY26 profit Rs 20.4 crore.
• FY26: net worth Rs 875.3 crore, CRAR 19.1%, CASA ratio 39.8%, gross NPA 4.81% versus 6.25%.
• AUM Rs 3,759 crore as of September 2025 versus Rs 2,954 crore in March 2025.
• Net worth rose from Rs 61 crore (March 2024) to Rs 849 crore (March 2025).
• Q1 FY27 (quarter ended June 2026): net profit Rs 50.9 crore versus a loss of Rs 10.1 crore a year earlier; total income Rs 413.8 crore.

Market Opportunity for Slice

Market size is easy to exaggerate, so a useful approach separates the total market from the portion a company can realistically reach with its current product and distribution. The main forces behind demand in this sector are the scale of UPI, rising digital lending, growing participation in investing and insurance, and the digitisation of small merchants. Each of these widens the opportunity, but capital efficiency and execution decide who captures it.

• Retail customers, with a young median customer age (27 in 2021), and MSME borrowers.
• Pre-merger it was the third-largest card issuer in India by volume behind two banks (reported, 2021).

Technology and Product at Slice

Technology is rarely the whole moat, but it drives speed, cost and customer experience. A practical way to assess it is to separate the capability the company controls from the commodity infrastructure it rents. In this sector the important factors are uptime, security, fraud controls, integrations with banks and the speed of onboarding customers.

• Its own underwriting system differentiated the fintech from banks; the bank pursues digital unsecured lending.

Team and Culture at Slice

Teams are the most important and least measurable asset of a young company. Look at how complementary the founders’ skills are, how deep the second layer of leadership is, and how the company hires and retains specialists. Culture shows up in small repeated behaviours: how quickly bad news travels upward and whether commitments to customers are kept.

• Rajan Bajaj is founder and MD and CEO of slice Small Finance Bank.
• Backers include Tiger Global, Insight Partners, Advent International's Sunley House Capital and Blume Ventures.

Slice Competitors: Competitive Landscape

A fair competitive analysis names direct rivals, adjacent players who could move into the space, and the customer’s default alternative. Durable advantages include proprietary data or technology, licences and approvals, brand trust, switching costs and cost leadership.

Risks and Challenges for Slice

• The bank recorded a Rs 216.7 crore loss in FY25, so profitability is recent.
• The RBI's earlier crackdown on its card and BNPL products forced a business reset.
• Gross NPA of 4.81% reflects asset quality risk in unsecured lending (about 76% of AUM).
• Heavy expense growth: employee costs rose 73% in FY26.
• Regulatory risk: rules from the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI or NPCI can change economics or business scope quickly.
• Concentration risk: dependence on a few partners, banks or payment rails can create single points of failure.

Risk is not a reason to avoid a company; it is a reason to price it correctly and to monitor the right indicators over time. Regulation in this sector is shaped by the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and NPCI.

Slice Growth Outlook: What to Watch

• The company aimed to raise USD 300 million for pan-India expansion.
• The spokesperson called FY26 a turning point; Q1 FY27 profit of Rs 50.9 crore points to continued profitability.
• Key indicators: transaction value, take rate, active users, credit quality and cost of acquiring each customer.
• Funding position: Whether Slice can reach its next milestone before needing new capital.
• Regulation: Changes from the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and NPCI.

Industry Context: Where Slice Fits

India's financial technology sector has been shaped by public digital infrastructure, especially UPI, along with Aadhaar-based identity, the account aggregator framework and regulation from the RBI, SEBI and IRDAI. These rails let startups reach customers and merchants at very low cost, but also expose them to fast-changing rules on licensing, data and lending conduct.

As payments become a low-margin commodity, fintech companies increasingly compete on distribution, merchant services, credit, wealth and insurance products. Sustainable profit usually depends on compliance strength, cost control and the quality of customer relationships rather than transaction volume alone.

For readers new to this field, a useful habit is to separate announcements from evidence. A plan, a partnership or a funding headline describes intent, while a delivered product, a paying customer or an audited financial statement describes results. Comparing the two over time shows how reliably a company turns promises into outcomes.

Bull Case and Bear Case for Slice

An investment thesis is a short, testable statement of why a company could become far more valuable, together with what evidence would prove it wrong. The points below are general to this sector and are not forecasts for Slice.

Bull case

• Digital payments and credit continue to grow, widening the market.
• Strong compliance and distribution create durable advantages.
• Cross-selling to existing customers can lift revenue per user.

Bear case

• Regulatory shifts can change economics overnight.
• Free or low-fee products make profit hard to reach.
• Fraud, outages and partner dependence can hurt trust.

Lessons Founders and Investors Can Take from Slice

Studying a company in the Digital small finance bank space offers lessons that go beyond any single firm. The points below are general lessons for the sector and are not claims about Slice.

• Compliance is a growth enabler in financial services, not just a cost, because licences decide what a company is allowed to sell.
• Distribution and customer trust often matter more than the underlying payment or lending technology.
• Products that earn from services and credit tend to be steadier than ones that depend on free transactions.
• Dependence on a single bank partner or rail creates risk that should be managed early.
• Fraud prevention and uptime are core product features, not back-office tasks.

How to Evaluate Slice as a Startup

• Customer clarity: Can Slice name its customer and the problem it solves in one sentence?
• Evidence of demand: Look for repeat customers, signed contracts or measurable usage rather than announcements alone.
• Economics: Check whether margins improve as volume grows.
• Execution: Compare announced timelines with what has actually been delivered.
• Funding runway: Estimate how long current capital lasts at the present spending rate.
• Regulatory standing: Confirm required approvals are in place.
• Customer concentration: Check whether a few customers account for most of the revenue.
• Management depth: Look for experienced leaders beyond the founders and a stable core team.

The Takeaway

Slice is part of India’s growing Digital small finance bank ecosystem. The useful lesson from studying it is the discipline of asking structured questions about customers, economics, advantage and resilience. Companies that answer them well, repeatedly and under pressure are the ones that endure. Readers should treat any single report, ranking or funding headline as one input among many, and should re-check key facts against recent company announcements. Because public information on young companies is often limited, patience in verifying claims is part of good analysis. Public sources can also describe the same company in different ways, so it is worth checking dates, definitions and whether a figure refers to revenue, total income or transaction value, and whether it covers one entity or a wider group, before drawing conclusions. Small differences in rounding, currency conversion or reporting periods can also change how a figure reads. Comparing the same figure across several recent reports helps show whether it is stable or has changed over time. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

• Clear customers and repeat demand matter more than announcements.
• Regulation and capital needs shape how fast a startup in this sector can grow.
• Track a few leading indicators over time rather than one headline metric.

Slice FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Slice?

Slice is a Bengaluru-based small finance bank, formed when the fintech slice merged with North East Small Finance Bank, offering banking and credit services for retail customers. It is profiled in the Startup Deep Dive series, which explains business model, funding, competitors and risks.

Who founded Slice?

Slice was founded by Rajan Bajaj, and the company reports a founding year of 2016.

How much funding has Slice raised?

About USD 270-291 million raised as a fintech across rounds (reports differ). Funding figures are reported and may differ between sources, so readers should check the latest company announcements.

How does Slice make money?

Slice earns revenue from its Digital small finance bank products and services sold to consumers, merchants, banks, lenders and enterprises. The exact revenue mix is described in the business model section and is not fully disclosed publicly.

Who are the competitors of Slice?

Reported rivals include Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Jana Small Finance Bank, Large Indian banks (card issuers). See the competitor comparison above for how they differ.

What are the main risks for Slice?

Main risks include rules from the rbi, sebi, irdai or npci can change economics or business scope quickly, funding and capital needs, competition and regulation by the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and NPCI. This is educational content, not investment advice.

Related Startup Deep Dives: Trijog — Trijog: a mother-daughter mental wellness startup from Mumbai | OneCard — OneCard’s parent grew FY25 revenue 32% to Rs 1,878 crore. Browse the full Startup Deep Dive series.

Source

Source: Publicly available data, published reports, industry research, and other credible sources.