Muthoot FinCorp is trying to sell a fintech story without behaving like a fintech

The group’s digital fintech product, Muthoot FinCorp ONE, is central to that ambition. The app has 7 million downloads and about 2 million monthly active users, but Varghese was at pains to say the app is not a separate VC-style bet. “We are not here for a valuation. We are not in a hurry to sell anything here,” he said, arguing that the app is meant to complement the company’s branch-led lending franchise rather than replace it.

That distinction matters because Muthoot’s digital strategy is very different from the usual fintech playbook. It is trying to move its borrowers onto the app, deepen engagement and widen the product relationship.

In a separate interview with Mint, Chandan Khaitan, chief executive officer of the group’s fintech arm Muthoot FinCorp ONE, said the app has a 19% DAU-to-MAU ratio—used to measure user ‘stickiness’. He added that the platform’s product-per-customer ratio is 1.93, and the company aims to push it above 2.5 in the near term.

Paytm’s app had around 77 million monthly transacting users, which counts users actually transacting in a month, PhonePe’s 238 million Monthly Active Suers reflect a broader active-customer base, and MobiKwik’s 189.6 million number is simply registered users.

Khaitan’s pitch is that these numbers are less about vanity metrics and more about whether the app is becoming habit-forming and cross-sell friendly. A 19% DAU-to-MAU ratio suggests recurring usage, while a product-per-customer ratio of 1.93 indicates that Muthoot is beginning to sell beyond a single loan or insurance interaction.

The bigger story, though, is credit mix. Three years ago, Khaitan said, Muthoot’s book was roughly 98-99% secured. Today, he said, the mix is about 87% secured and 13% unsecured.

Asset quality weakened in the March quarter, with the GNPA rising to 2.35% from 1.58% in the previous quarter, though it was still lower than 3.41% a year ago. For a gold lender, the sequential rise is worth watching even if the year-on-year number has improved.

“We are more of a secure lending company,” Khaitan said, even as the group expands into digital lending, personal loans and marketplace-style products. In other words, Muthoot wants digital growth, but it wants that growth to sit inside a secured-credit framework, not outside it.

The group’s financials show why the balance sheet remains central to the narrative. On a standalone basis, Muthoot FinCorp reported assets under management (AUM) of ₹56,185.10 crore, revenue of ₹8,364.28 crore, and profit after tax (PAT) of ₹1,640.21 crore for FY26.

Manappuram Finance posted a sharp turnaround in FY26, with AUM rising 48.3% to ₹63,798 crore, but Muthoot FinCorp still has the edge on balance-sheet scale and a more explicit digital pitch.

IIFL Finance sits in a broader lending bucket, with FY26 AUM at ₹1.08 trillion and gold-loan AUM at ₹52,581 crore, but its growth story is still being rebuilt after regulatory headwinds.

Consolidated AUM for FY26 was ₹73,448.82 crore, revenue was ₹11,227.80 crore, and PAT was ₹1,847.62 crore, indicating that the subsidiaries add scale while the parent non-banking financial company (NBFC) remains the core earnings engine. The subsidiaries, Muthoot Microfin, Muthoot Housing Finance and Muthoot Pappachan Technologies, expand the group’s reach into microfinance, home loans and technology support.

Broader fundraise

The board has approved up to ₹4,000 crore of public non-convertible debenture (NCD) issuance between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, up to ₹4,000 crore via private placement of NCDs, perpetual debt instruments and subordinated debt, and a commercial paper programme with a ₹30,000 crore issuance limit and ₹10,000 crore outstanding cap.

The debt side is just as important. As of 31 March 2026, the standalone balance sheet showed debt securities of ₹5,205.8 crore, borrowings of ₹34,676.8 crore, subordinated liabilities of ₹3,726.7 crore and cash and cash equivalents of ₹1,952.8 crore. The company also disclosed a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61 and a total debt-to-total assets ratio of 83.96%.

“On the debt side of our balance sheet, we have a good mix of both banks and the non-bank and capital market,” he said, noting that bank borrowings have fallen to about 60% from 70%, while financial institutions contribute about 8% and mutual funds about 11%.

He added that Muthoot already has 23 or 24 listed NCDs in the market and now also taps commercial paper, retail and institutional NCDs, and other debt channels.

If the IPO goes through, it will be because the market believes Muthoot can expand its digital reach without abandoning the credit discipline that built the franchise.

Salman SH

Salman S.H. is an Assistant Editor with Mint in Bengaluru, where he covers startups, venture capital, and the broader internet economy. Over the course of more than a decade in journalism and strategic communications, he has built deep reporting expertise across technology, fintech, consumer internet, digital platforms, and the business models shaping India’s new economy. At Mint, he tracks the companies, investors, and policy developments influencing how technology is built, funded, and scaled in India.His reporting covers venture capital, startup strategy, fintech, edtech, funding trends, and the internet economy. He writes about how startups raise money, grow their businesses, respond to regulation, and adapt to changes in technology and policy. His work also looks at the impact of policy decisions on startups and investors, and tracks the sectors, founders, and firms shaping India’s digital economy.Before Mint, Salman worked across several respected newsrooms, including The Economic Times, Financial Express, The Ken, Inc42, and The Core. He has also worked in strategic communications, leading PR strategy and media outreach for clients in education, online learning, consumer internet, and consulting. That combination of newsroom and communications experience gives him a clear understanding of how business stories are reported, shaped, and understood.