Bengaluru-based fintech unicorn CRED has stepped into the premium payments space with the launch of two new offerings. Sovereign, an invite-only membership anchored by an 18-karat gold-etched card, and the CRED IndusInd Bank RuPay Credit Card. Both were unveiled on September 15 by founder Kunal Shah.
The Sovereign program is aimed at an ultra-select group of India’s elite, with each member receiving a bespoke gold credential featuring guilloché engraving. Shah described it as a product most people will “probably not see,” highlighting its exclusivity.
Alongside this, the company rolled out its co-branded RuPay credit card with IndusInd Bank, positioned for mass-affluent, digital-first users. The lifestyle-focused card offers 5% rewards on e-commerce spends and 1% on offline transactions, including UPI payments via CRED Scan & Pay. Rewards are directly pegged to the rupee and can be instantly redeemed across 500+ CRED Pay merchants, 2,000 products on CRED Store, and through partners like ixigo (flights) and Expedia (hotels).
With zero joining fees and a two-minute digital onboarding process, the card aims to simplify access while maximizing flexibility. “Most cards dictate where rewards can be redeemed. We wanted to flip that and give consumers true freedom of choice,” Shah said, noting the rapid shift of card spending towards e-commerce.
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According to IndusInd Bank, the partnership combines its banking expertise with CRED’s digitally native, high-spending community. The tie-up is expected to strengthen both players’ presence in India’s crowded premium payments market, where co-branded cards from Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, PhonePe, and Paytm already compete.
Founded as a credit card bill payments platform, CRED is now the sixth-largest UPI app in India. With these launches, the company is doubling down on financial lifestyle products, blending exclusivity with payments innovation.
