Although FinTech is a relatively new entrant to global finance, it has already made waves in India. The Fintech industry has managed to stay on its feet even through a pandemic despite the violent shaking of world economies.
In fact, one of the most popular developments in 2020 was the arrival of virtual finance products and services which found favour with Indian consumers.
FinTech start-ups need to be in tune with the trends gripping 2021 around new products and services to develop business models that can gain momentum in quick time:
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Fintech in India has garnered the attention and interest of VC’s owing to its sudden accelerated growth. Financial services are increasingly being integrated into enterprise digital platforms. Fintech start-ups in India are tapping into this need.
Automated Financial Decision-Making
Decision making is an integral part of finance which people often fall short of. Technology solutions that perform financial decision making on the user’s behalf are the newest trend. Start-ups looking towards Fintech services can consider this solution that will help consumers perform payments and fulfil their financial commitments. Automated Financial Decision-Making tools are backed by AI and ML technologies which eliminate the need for redundant manual micro decisions so that users can experience more financial freedom.
Regtech:
Regtech involves risk management and regulatory compliance platforms which are a relatively new product/service in the market. Regtech start-ups are partnering with national or global financial institutions to enforce compliance. Regtech products perform tasks like transaction monitoring, fraud, and risk management.
Banks are willing to shell out a whopping $270 B on Risk & Regulatory Compliance as well as $128 B on Fintech year on year.
This goes to show that the market is massive for Regtech and Fintech start-ups. ‘CogNext Analytics’ is one such start-up based in Mumbai which is providing a Regtech-as-a-Service (RaaS) platform for banks and financial institutions.
CogNext Analytics took off with an initial capital of up to 10 Lakhs but achieved a growth rate of 300% in 2020 touching $2M in its annualised revenue run rate.
FinTech Loans:
As banks stepped back from disbursing loans due to the pandemic induced financial crisis, small lending firms saw the opportunity to fill the gap. Tech loan start-ups are the next trend where credit evaluations and borrower sourcing occur to offer digital loans. Peer-to-peer lending and revenue-based lending fall under the tech loans category. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic rather than hurting Fintech has made financial services more accessible and available for its precise target market. Digital Lending is a service which has received immense capital in 2020. ‘Affirm’ is an example of a Fintech company which offers microloans on a ‘buy now pay later’ scheme. Notable Indian start-ups like ‘LazyPay’ and ‘Simpl’ have managed to scale by handing out tech loans on the ‘BNPL’ scheme. The BNPL sector in India is set to touch $100B by 2023 and start-ups can expect to taste success by venturing into this business model.
What’s in it for me?
Fintech in India has garnered the attention and interest of VC’s owing to its sudden accelerated growth. Financial services are increasingly being integrated into enterprise digital platforms. Fintech start-ups in India are tapping into this need.
A great example is ‘Yas’, a Chennai based start-up which offers customized API platforms to connect businesses with other Fintech platforms. Yas recently received $10M in a series B funding round.
Start-ups can also study the business model of ‘GyanDhan’ (a start-up from Delhi in the Education sector) which follows a one-of-its-kind risk-scoring model offering ‘study abroad’ loans to Indian students. Despite the risk of toxicity around education loans, GyanDhan is ready to welcome $5M in an upcoming angel investment round.
FinTech is currently going strong in India and is not suffering from Covid challenges. If anything, the pandemic has been a boon for the growth of this sector. Start-ups with an idea that can close the gap between Indian consumers and easier access to financial products and services (which are hard to come by through traditional banking) can expect to obtain VC funding.
