Online financial services marketplace BankBazaar plans an IPO to list on public markets by 2023, the company said Thursday, even as it clocked its first profit in the month of March 2022, and reported revenue growth in fiscal year 2021-22. The fintech firm also plans to recruit over 1,500 employees across departments this year as it aims to expand its product offerings such as tailored co-branded credit products, including credit cards and personal loans from multiple banks and NBFCs (non banking financial company), it said in a statement.

BankBazaar narrowed its negative EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation) margin in fiscal 2022 to 25 per cent from negative EBITDA margin of 51.5 per cent in fiscal 2021. The fintech firm backed by Sequoia India and Amazon reported annualised revenue run rate of Rs 156 crore with revenue growing at a CAGR of 100%, it added.

“As a business, BankBazaar has always been focussed on three things: great technology, customer focus, and the bottom-line. I am proud to say that we are one of the few fintechs in India and the world to be growing rapidly and profitably,” Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar.com said in the statement.

“What makes it more memorable is the fact that we have managed to achieve this in very tough times when the entire nature of the BFSI structure is undergoing unprecedented shifts due to the pandemic. The shift to a co-brand business strategy has yielded great results for the company and will remain the key to our growth in coming years,” he added.

BankBazaar said it aims to have one million co-brand credit cards in circulation within two years. Co-brand contribution to issuances is expected to scale up to 80% in FY23 from the current 50% contribution, it added. BankBazaar counts Yes Bank as one of its partners for co-branded cards.

BankBazaar, which is headquartered in Chennai, said it attributes its growth to its co-brand credit card business model that’s now contributing over half of the total issuance. The concept of co-branded cards is however not a new model, and it was first introduced in 1996, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. Co-branded cards model is when two parties, typically an issuing bank and a corporate/merchant, join hands to offer a product which encompasses the best of both worlds.