Risky business: BNPL startups’ survival battle is a cautionary tale of high-growth fintech sector

ZestMoney, which was smarting under the collapse of a merger deal with Walmart-backed fintech firm PhonePe, was dealt a body blow last month. A group of its NBFC (non-banking finance company) partners met the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup’s newly appointed management and issued an ultimatum. During the meeting, ZestMoney, which had lending arrangements with around 13 NBFCs, was informed that all lending services would be temporarily