Physicswallah Limited reversed its student lending strategy on Thursday, announcing it will partner with regulated third-party Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) instead of operating its own lending book — a move that sent the stock up over 15 per cent to ₹106.14 in intraday trade on the NSE.
The Noida-based edtech company had previously announced an equity infusion of approximately ₹120 crore into its wholly-owned subsidiary, FinZ Finance Private Limited, to build an in-house lending operation. That plan has now been shelved. The company said the shift is intended to materially reduce balance sheet exposure and credit-related risks.
Going forward, PhysicsWallah will function as a technology platform connecting students to a curated set of regulated lending partners, with financing decisions tied to students’ learning lifecycle and academic outcomes. The company said the model would improve scalability and enable deeper penetration into the student ecosystem.
Co-founder Prateek Maheshwari cited partner feedback as a key driver of the reversal, saying the company’s core strengths lie in community-building and its online business, and that underwriting is best handled by specialized NBFCs. He framed the decision as an exercise in fiduciary responsibility and prudent capital allocation.
The future direction of FinZ Finance will be determined subject to board and regulatory approvals, the company said.
On the markets, PWL shares opened at ₹91.00, hit an intraday high of ₹108.44, and were trading at ₹106.14 at the time of writing — up 15.32 per cent from Wednesday’s close of ₹92.04. Traded volume stood at approximately 562 lakh shares, with a traded value of ₹582.97 crore. The stock has declined roughly 20 per cent year-to-date but remains within its 52-week range of ₹77.72 to ₹161.99. The total market capitalisation is approximately ₹30,622 crore.