Fintechs, the friendly guide to achieve financial freedom

Almost everyone desires financial freedom but most of them lack the knowledge and resources to go about achieving it. Some think that rendering more jobs will bring in additional money, which would lead to increased savings. However, even the top-earning employees can get burdened with debt. The primary reason for this is their mismanagement of finances and resources.

But, there is no need to worry as fintech applications that can keep track of your financial well-being have come as godsend facilities.

From budgeting and auto repayments of bills to reminding you of your investments, these new-age applications are using automation and innovative technology such as AI, Big Data, and Machine Learning to help you achieve your financial goals.

Gone are the days when the scope of the financial function was restricted to the procurement of funds by corporate enterprises to meet needs. Fintechs have not only entered but have actually conquered a major chunk of digital lending and payment space by facilitating small ticket transactions with utmost ease and convenience. They have given rise to financial inclusion in the country, as millennials and GenZ are constantly eyeing micro-credit solutions to manage their recurring, as well as occasional, expenses and using digital payment services for their everyday spending. In fact, fintechs are leading the wave of financial literacy in the country by not only enlightening the consumers about their financial health but also giving them platforms to manage effectively.

Paytail

Founded in March 2021 by veteran bankers Vikas Garg and Amit Chaturvedi, with a combined experience of over three decades, Paytail is revolutionizing offline commerce by enabling instant paperless no-cost EMIs to consumers and transforming merchants' selling experience through scalable technology solutions. Paytail enables merchants to offer 0 per cent EMI led directly by OEMs and other sellers, leading to better sales. The 'Made by Bharat, Made for Bharat' startup is disrupting the $1 trillion offline commerce market by bringing affordability, speed and convenience to customers. A retailer can approve EMIs for their customers with a few taps on Paytail app.

Indian retail has a lot of untapped potential to achieve growth. Paytail strongly believes that technology can extend a helping hand for retail, create the perfect environment for their success and position them equally in the economic framework.

Their primary mission is to create a level-playing field for all merchants where access to technology is not a growth barrier.

Talking to Bizz Buzz, Vikas Garg, CEO of Paytail, said, "Becoming a Paytail member enables our vast network of over 85,000 merchants to offer instant and paperless in-store 0 per cent EMI credit to customers, leading to higher sales and satisfaction."

Mobikwik

MobiKwik is the largest digital credit player and the second largest mobile wallet in India. They have expanded their suite of financial products for consumers and merchants from payments to digital credit and investments. Their mission is to build a world-class neo-banking platform for India.

Founded in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, MobiKwik currently has 127 million registered users, who can make payments for all their daily needs, including utility bills, e-commerce shopping, food delivery, and shopping at large retail chains and kirana stores across a 3.7 million strong merchant network.

With credit card penetration in India at an abysmal 3.5 per cent, they launched digital credit in 2018 with an aim to address the credit needs of a large and growing base of digitally savvy users. With 30 million credit pre-approved users, MobiKwik is focused on providing this often ignored Indian population their first experience of credit.

Siply

Founded in July 2020 by Sousthav Chakrabarty and Anil Bhat in Bangalore, Siply is a tech-enabled micro-savings platform. It hopes to be the preferred financial services brand to the 40 crore Indians who are not yet a part of the formal banking system. The company is building a platform that is tailor-made to serve the specific needs of this segment, which has so far been largely overlooked by current financial institutions like banks and mutual fund houses.

The platform helps the underserved masses such as contract workers, blue-collar workers, gig economy workers and petty business owners to inculcate savings behaviour through sachet financial services where the investment can be as low as Re one to build a more productive, inclusive and financially secure Bharat.Savings and investments are the centre point of any financial plan and Siply is perfect for people to develop a habit of saving through their sachet financial services.

Protium

Protium is an engineering-driven pan-India lending company with an eye on risk management that efficiently empowers small and medium-scale businesses and consumers to make quick and convenient purchase decisions. It is founded by former Goldman Sachs partner Peeyush Misra, who affirms that cutting-edge engineering is critical to reaching credit seekers in every part of the country. The company makes credit available conveniently by operating under Protium Finance, Protium Money, and Protium Sakshara, which lend to MSMEs, educational institutions and consumers. It uses proprietary models to assess revenues and growth to equip and empower its customers with financial solutions like secured and unsecured loans up to Rs five crore to small businesses in tier 1, 2, and 3 cities and personal loans to the consumer segment.

The availability of credit from traditional banking solutions was a big problem for SMEs. Protium, a full-stack lender with a pan-India branch presence, stepped up to the task of empowering such businesses.

The company aims to ensure that no deserving credit-seeker misses out on a line of credit just because of their location, language or lack of access to formal institutions.

Castler

Castler is a pioneer in the field of digital escrow in India. Founded in 2020 by Vineet Singh and Dinesh Kumar, both startup veterans, the company's endeavour is to build a transaction banking focused escrow banking solution for enterprises, for both domestic and cross-border transactions. It also wants to democratize the escrow product for mass adoption amongst consumers and MSMEs to eliminate fraud.

Castler regulates payment processes between transacting parties. It ensures that the transaction is carried out according to mutually agreed upon terms. Its offerings are diverse and can service any industry or use cases for individual buyers, individual sellers, and enterprises.

Castler's proprietary Digital Escrow Banking Suite provides its clients with a unique 'open, own & operate' escrow solution that ensures trust and transparency in every transaction.