According to reports, Pune-based supply chain finance startup Vayana has received a non-banking finance company (NBFC) licence from the Reserve Bank of India.

The other fintech companies that have been granted a lending license by the central bank are Jupiter and Cred.

While Jupiter's parent company, Amica Financial, received a new NBFC license in April 2023, Cred's founder, Kunal Shah, purchased Parfait Finance, another NBFC, in 2021 to begin lending.

The RBI has returned the NBFC license applications of two well-funded financial companies, Uni Card and One Card.

Vayana, which is supported by PayU, is looking to secure an extra $20 million in finance with the new license, mostly to capitalize the NBFC business.

SMBC Asia Rising Fund, which led its $20 million round in August last year, could lead this round as well. The firm is scouting for a fresh investor as well who could lead the round, but talks are yet to be finalized.

While the first tranche was made last year, the second tranche was contingent on the NBFC license being obtained. This will be an extension of the prior round. The second tranche will be infused now that the nod has been received.

To date, Vayana has raised around $89 million, and data from Tracxn shows that the startup was valued at $235 million in September 2024. Chiratae Ventures, Jungle Ventures, and Marshall Wace are among its other backers.

The company, founded in 2017 by Ramaswamy Iyer, offers invoice discounting and trade financing to suppliers and small businesses operating in sectors like fast-moving consumer goods and automotive. It claims to process a billion dollars in financing monthly through 3,000 supply chains serving over 300,000 enterprises.