Bueno Gig Growth Technologies Private Limited, commonly known as Bueno Finance, is a financial services platform that aims to improve the financial access and inclusion of Indian blue-collar (manual) workers. It mainly meets short-term cash flow needs and helps customers improve their creditworthiness to obtain official credit.
With the integration of financial technology and digital financial solutions, Bueno Finance positions itself as a “neobank”. A neobank, also known as an internet-only bank, or virtual bank, or digital bank, is a bank that is operated entirely online without a traditional physical branch network.
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Bueno Finance aims to connect blue-collar (middle and lower-middle-income segment) workers to the mainstream financial world.
Bueno Finance works with digital platforms by giving blue-collar workers instant access to revolving credit lines for their work. They can access this line of credit through the platform and the credit line increases over time. Bueno does this by capturing payment and transaction data in real-time for better understanding.
Why Bueno Finance, and how does it work?
The lives of blue-collar working people in India are complex, uncertain and often prone to more risk than well-settled people in the upper-middle class. It is estimated that more than 15 million gig workers will be connected to the digital platform by 2021.
However, as the industry has grown, the financial services available to these workers have not accelerated. With the services provided by start-ups like Bueno Finance, this gap can be filled, and personalised finance can be availed to millions of workers.
Bueno Finance works on a three-step strategy, which is as follows:
Collaboration
Bueno Finance connects to leading digital platforms and integrates with centralised digital infrastructure.
User-friendly Application
Gig workers can download the app from the platform and register with their mobile number. Once the credit limit application is successful, the company searches the forum for income information and activates credit lines transparently within 24 hours.
Refund and Repayment
Repayment automatically gets debited from the worker’s payout account by the platform and transferred to Bueno Finance.
Latest Seed funding received by the start-up
Bueno Finance has recently raised $3 million in its seed round from a slew of investors such as Goat Capital, JAM Fund, Olive Tree Capital, Good Water Capital and others from Silicon Valley. The Gurugram-based start-up will use the funds to expand the product offerings and strengthen its team across engineering, product, sales, credit and operations.
What can start-ups learn from Bueno Finance in providing Credit Access to customers?
In an increasingly growing Indian fintech and banking sector, financial and fintech businesses must leap towards including the vast Indian workforce often devoid of new-age financial services due to a lack of resources and awareness. With the neobank model and fintech integration, consumers can seamlessly access a credit line, build their financial health, save and spend in more innovative ways. This alone is an excellent incentive for start-ups and entrepreneurs to start in this segment.
By utilising the existing network of pan India fintech that is the UPI, which is backed by a credit line approved by authorities, start-ups can enable workers and merchants to transact online easily. Moreover, through applications and web portals like that of Bueno Finance, new start-ups can help customers use their credit line to transact in the offline world via QR codes available at every merchant.
In a nutshell, the fintech and new banking models are increasing. Keen entrepreneurs must hop on this growth bandwagon to capture the right opportunities at the right moment, adding to the financial inclusion of billions of Indians.
