NBFCs accelerate personal loans disbursement with perks ahead of festival season

Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are stepping up their disbursements of personal loans and are offering festival discounts ahead of Deepavali, as lenders are looking to tap into the festival demand and customers seek to access unsecured credit at a cheaper cost. Lenders are increasing their outreach through targeted awareness campaigns, pre-approved loans offers and waiver of full processing fees on eligible loans. The festive season has traditionally been an important period for retail lenders, with increased spending on shopping, travel, and other consumption-related expenses creating opportunities for personal loan disbursals.

This comes at a time when NBFCs have already been leading the pack in personal loan disbursement. According to the latest data from CRIF, a credit bureau, personal loans growth was mainly driven by NBFCs in the first quarter of the fiscal year, with their originations share rising to 46 percent in Q1 FY27, from 40.5 percent in the previous corresponding quarter. According to the latest RBI data, retail loans growth accelerated to 22.0 percent on a year-on-year basis in August 2026 compared to 13.6 percent a year ago. Lenders tap into festival spending HDB Financial Services, the NBFC arm of the broader HDFC group, announced a initiative called "Khushiyo ka Season", where the company offers application-fee waivers on select property-backed loans and gifts a 1-gram gold coin daily to eligible personal, business, and gold loan customers.

Poonawalla Fincorp, another leading retail NBFC, started the "Sapno Ka Celebration" scheme, where it is incentivizing personal and consumer durable loans with a reward pool offering borrowers chances to win cars, motorbikes, and travel vouchers. The company is currently offering personal loans starting at 9.99 percent per annum for loan amounts upto Rs 50 lakh across tenures. Bajaj Finance's Deepavali personal loans initiative offers a repayment tenure of upto 108 months, which enables customers to repay their loans at their own pace without any constraint. These loan amounts can range between Rs 40,000 and Rs 75 lakh, according to their website.

NBFCs offering digital personal loans are also part of the pack. Recently-listed Moneyview Ltd and InCred are now offering digital personal loans starting at 14 percent, with upto a 50 percent processing fee waiver for customers with a high credit score. Banks also join the party Axis Bank, the country's third largest private lender, announced on November 2, a wide range of festive offers across its retail lending, business banking and credit card propositions. For customers looking to meet personal financing requirements, Axis Bank is offering collateral-free personal loans starting at 9.99 percent per annum, along with processing fees starting from Rs 999.

Bank of India, one of the country's leading public sector banks, also announced on November 2, a 100 percent waiver of applicable processing charges on eligible home loans and four-wheeler loans, effective from 1st October, 2026 to 31st March, 2027. Punjab National Bank, another leading PSU lender, has launched its festival retail loan campaign, with benefits across home, car, and personal loans. Bandhan Bank, on the other hand, plans to issue 1 lakh credit cards by the end of the fiscal year, as part of its broader customer strategy