by Slice Small Finance Bank Limited
Slice was founded in 2016 by Rajan Bajaj as Garagepreneurs Internet Private Limited, building a pay-later credit line and card aimed at students and young professionals who could not get a conventional credit card. It was routinely described as India's Klarna. That model was broken by regulation, not competition. An RBI circular in June 2022 barred non-bank issuers from loading credit lines onto prepaid instruments, which hit Slice's core product directly. Rather than stay an NBFC-backed card issuer, Slice bought into North East Small Finance Bank, obtained RBI clearance, and completed a reverse merger on 27 October 2024 — the first fintech-to-bank conversion in India. The surviving legal entity is the former North East Small Finance Bank, incorporated in Assam in 2016 and since renamed Slice Small Finance Bank Limited. Rajan Bajaj was approved by the RBI as MD & CEO with effect from 17 February 2026. Today the consumer products are a UPI-linked credit card with no joining or annual fee, and a zero-balance savings account paying 5.25% a year credited daily. The bank reported its first net profit, ₹48.4 crore, for FY2025-26. One thing to be clear about: the Klarna and Affirm comparison describes what Slice was, not what it is. Those are pure pay-later companies with no banking licence and no deposits. Slice now takes deposits under RBI regulation, which makes it closer to an app-first neobank such as Chime than to a BNPL provider. Its physical banking footprint, inherited from North East Small Finance Bank, is still concentrated in the North East.
Slice Small Finance Bank Limited
4.6/5 on Google Play Store (India locale, 848,384 ratings, checked 18 September 2026) · Last verified 2026-09-18
It is a bank. Slice completed a reverse merger with North East Small Finance Bank on 27 October 2024 and operates as Slice Small Finance Bank Limited, regulated by the RBI. That also means deposits are covered by DICGC insurance up to the standard ₹5 lakh limit, which was not true of the pre-2024 product.
There is no joining fee and no annual fee, so holding the card costs nothing. It stops being free the moment you carry a balance: revolving interest is 36% a year on ordinary spend and 42% a year on cash or bank-transfer use, with an interest-free window of roughly 14 to 46 days if the previous statement was paid in full.
It was, and it is no longer a clean match. Slice launched in 2016 as a pay-later product in the Klarna mould, but an RBI circular in June 2022 barred credit lines on prepaid instruments and forced a redesign. Since becoming a licensed bank in October 2024 it takes deposits and issues a credit card, which puts it closer to an app-first neobank like Chime than to a pure BNPL provider.
5.25% a year as advertised on slice.bank.in in September 2026, credited daily rather than quarterly, with no minimum balance requirement. Small finance banks generally price deposits above large commercial banks to attract them, and the rate is linked to the RBI repo rate, so it can move.
The app, the card and the savings account work nationally, and the card runs on UPI so it is accepted anywhere UPI is. The physical branch network is the part that is limited — it came from North East Small Finance Bank and is still concentrated in Assam and the surrounding states. If you want in-person banking outside that region, this is effectively an app-only bank.
The legal entity is Indian: Slice Small Finance Bank Limited, incorporated in Assam, headquartered in Bengaluru, and regulated by the RBI, which also had to approve founder Rajan Bajaj as MD & CEO in February 2026. Ownership is mixed — Bajaj is reported as the largest single shareholder, alongside foreign investors including Tiger Global, Insight Partners and Gunosy Capital. The company has raised about $387 million and does not publish a precise shareholding split.
Slice is a powerful Indian alternative to these international apps:
Yes, Slice by Slice Small Finance Bank Limited is an Indian alternative to Chime. It offers similar functionality while being developed and maintained in India.Explore other Indian alternatives to Chime →
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