Bonds for ₹500? How retail debt investing

A fintech company just acquired GoldenPi, a platform that lets regular Indians invest in bonds and debentures. This signals that bond investing — once only for the rich — is becoming mainstream for middle-class savers looking for better returns than FDs.

Here's what happened: Oxyzo, a fintech unicorn and lending arm of OfBusiness, acquired bond investment platform GoldenPi for approximately ₹42 crore via a share-swap deal.. GoldenPi is a retail-focused platform that allows individual investors to buy corporate bonds, government securities, and NCDs — often starting at ₹1,000.. This acquisition signals growing fintech interest in democratising debt markets, which have traditionally been dominated by institutional investors and HNIs with large ticket sizes..

What you should do: Compare bond yields on platforms like GoldenPi, Bondsindia, or Wint Wealth against your current FD rates — if your FD pays 7%, check if equivalent-rated bonds pay more.. Check the credit rating of any bond before investing — stick to AAA or AA-rated bonds if you are a first-time debt investor; avoid unrated or below-BBB instruments.. Diversify your fixed-income portfolio across FDs, debt mutual funds, and high-rated bonds rather than putting everything in one instrument — this spreads default risk..

Interest from bonds is taxed as per your income slab — same as FDs. But if you buy a bond at a discount and hold to maturity, the gain may qualify as capital gains, potentially at a lower tax rate.