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Finance
Shelfpay
Shelfpay favicon

Shelfpay

by Shelfpay

Shelf: India's 1st shared payments app

Free🇮🇳86%financeBengaluru, Karnataka
Visit Website

About This App

Shelf (formerly Shelfpay) is India's first shared payments app, built by co-founders Vedant Kumar and Paras Rajput — themselves ex-flatmates who experienced the pain of splitting rent and bills firsthand. Based in Bengaluru and backed by Y Combinator (S22 batch) with $500K in seed funding, Shelf goes beyond expense tracking to offer actual shared payment infrastructure — pooled wallets, a physical payment card for group spending, and automated bill splitting. Unlike Splitwise (which only tracks who owes whom), Shelf lets flatmates pool money into a shared wallet and make payments directly from it — rent, groceries, utilities, subscriptions, dining, and travel. The Shelf Card is a physical payment card designed for group spending, with automatic expense attribution so there's no manual logging after purchases. Features include customizable split ratios, automated rent and utility bill payments, up to 5% cashback on flatmate essentials, exclusive brand offers, and 24/7 customer support. The app offers both a 'Personal Shelf' for individual budgeting and a 'Shared Shelf' for group expenses. Shelf is completely free to use with zero hidden fees and no commissions. The business model is built around card transaction revenue and brand partnerships rather than subscription fees. This makes it genuinely free — not a freemium trap. Compared to Splitwise (which charges $4.99/month for Pro features like receipt scanning and currency conversion), Shelf's core value proposition — actual shared payments, not just tracking — is free. Best suited for young professionals sharing flats in Indian cities — the exact demographic that struggles with rent splits, utility bills, and grocery expenses every month. The Shelf Card and pooled wallet are genuine innovations over Splitwise's ledger-only approach. However, the app is currently invite-only with a limited user base, the product is still early-stage with features evolving rapidly, there's no web app (mobile-only), and the card's acceptance network and cashback offers are still building scale.

Information updated 7 months ago

App Details

Company
Shelfpay
Location
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Category
finance
Pricing
Free
🇮🇳
86%Highly Swadeshi

Shelfpay Private Limited

Honest Review

What works well

  • +Goes beyond expense tracking — actual shared wallets and payment infrastructure, not just a ledger
  • +Physical Shelf Card for group spending — automatic expense attribution without manual logging
  • +Completely free with zero hidden fees — no subscription, no commission, no freemium trap
  • +Up to 5% cashback on flatmate essentials — turns shared spending into rewards
  • +Automated rent and utility bill payments — set once, forget monthly reminders
  • +Y Combinator backed (S22) — strong technical team with real product development velocity

What needs improvement

  • -Currently invite-only — not available to everyone yet, limited user base
  • -Early-stage product — features are still evolving and may change significantly
  • -Mobile-only — no web app for users who prefer managing finances on desktop
  • -Card acceptance network is still building — cashback offers and merchant partnerships are limited
  • -Very new company (founded 2022) — long-term viability and feature stability are unproven

Common user complaints

  • !Invite-only access creates friction — interested users can't sign up and try the app immediately
  • !Limited brand offers and cashback merchants currently — the rewards ecosystem needs time to mature
  • !No detailed documentation or help center — troubleshooting requires contacting support directly
  • !App is still early and occasionally buggy — expected for a startup but frustrating for daily finance use

Learn Shelfpay on YouTube

Hand-picked videos to help you get started — tutorials, demos, and reviews.

Tutorial

SHELF APP - HOW TO USE

Shelfpay preview

Indian Alternative To

Shelfpay is a powerful Indian alternative to these international apps:

Is Shelfpay an alternative to Splitwise?

Yes, Shelfpay by Shelfpay is an Indian alternative to Splitwise. It offers similar functionality while being developed and maintained in India.Explore other Indian alternatives to Splitwise →

Is Shelfpay an alternative to Tricount?

Yes, Shelfpay by Shelfpay is an Indian alternative to Tricount. It offers similar functionality while being developed and maintained in India.Explore other Indian alternatives to Tricount →

Is Shelfpay an alternative to SplitMyExpenses?

Yes, Shelfpay by Shelfpay is an Indian alternative to SplitMyExpenses. It offers similar functionality while being developed and maintained in India.Explore other Indian alternatives to SplitMyExpenses →

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