Democratizing Credit: The Research & Design Behind Rupeek Prime
Duration
16 Weeks
Role
Research and Design Lead
Industry
Fintech · Lending · India
From idea to launch - how I researched, designed, and shipped India's first gold-backed credit card for the credit-invisible.
Overview
Project Context
The Company- Asset-backed gold lending
Rupeek operates India's largest doorstep gold loan network - gold appraisal, pickup, secure vaulting, and loan disbursement at scale.
The Initiative-Credit card over gold storage
Rupeek Prime extends the gold loan model - instead of a loan, customers get a credit card with a limit proportional to gold pledged, issued in partnership with RBL Bank.
01 - Problem
The Problem
We structured research around two axes - understanding user segments and testing existing mental models around credit.
Under-penetrated market
Majority of credit card share concentrated in the top 10 cities. Self-employed users (15% of card holders) are severely underserved vs salaried (85%). Newer players - Slice, OneCard, RedCarpet - still require credit scores.
The gap
High-intent applicants rejected due to no/low CIBIL score. These users are asset-rich (gold-holding households) but credit-invisible. Avg. card spends: ₹1L (mass) to ₹2-4L (premium) - a significant addressable volume.
A free credit instrument for the masses -not just for those who want a card for rewards.
02 - Research
Research Methodology
Qualitative in-depth interviews with 40 participants across 4 user groups. Goal: understand credit card usage, behaviours, and consumerism before designing the gold-backed card experience.
User groups studied
High CC enquiry but rejected
Salaried with existing cards
Self-employed with high CC usage
No card and no enquiry
Key insight: two distinct
intents
Pushed product - Salaried, good CIBIL, offered cards they didn't seek
Pull product - Self-employed, pressing need, search actively but face rejection
Persona 1- Salaried
Persona 2- Self employed
03 - Solution
The Solution: Rupeek Prime
Rupeek Prime is a gold-backed credit card that offers a credit limit proportional to pledged gold, with a full-feature card experience including rewards, EMI, and merchant offers - designed to be indistinguishable from a premium unsecured card in daily use.
Core value proposition
Credit limit backed by gold, no bureau check required. Full rewards and EMI features at par with premium cards. A familiar card UX with no stigma of a "secured" product.
Design approach
Onboarding anchored in gold valuation, not credit score. Trust built through transparent limit calculation. Progressive disclosure - complexity revealed only when needed.
04 - Impact
Design Impact
Product messaging
Repositioned from "secured card" to "gold-powered credit" - reducing perceived stigma in onboarding research.
Value alignment
Feature set benchmarked against CRED and HDFC to ensure perceived parity for personas who compare card benefits.
User experience
Activation flow reduced to 3 key steps through progressive disclosure, validated with usability testing.
Instrumentation
Key conversion and drop-off metrics defined pre-launch to enable data-driven iteration post-release.
05- Metrics
Key Metrics After Launch
49%
Link clicks
24%
Conversion to checkout
17%
Application rate
Next Steps
06 - Competitive
Rupeek Prime vs. Alternatives
Category
Traditional CC
Secured CC
Rupeek Prime
Credit score needed
Yes
Yes
No
Collateral
None
FD / Cash
Gold
Feature parity
Full
Limited
Full
Gold monetisation
No
No
Yes
Design stigma
None
High
None
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