Bengaluru: Niyo Solutions Inc., among India’s first digital banks or neobanks, is on track to become profitable this year, and then plans to list its shares on stock exchanges in 2025, chief strategy officer Swapnil Bhaskar said in an exclusive. an interview
Niyo was among the first few neobanks in India. The others include Jupiter and Fi. If Niyo goes public, it would be the first new bank to do so.
The company, which began operations in 2015, is also looking to raise funds in the second half of this year to expand its travel banking business as well as for acquisitions in the foreign exchange and lending segments, he said. Niyo entered the travel banking segment last year, with the launch of the Niyo Global card, which facilitates overseas transactions at zero foreign exchange charges.
On the procurement front, Niyo, run by parent company Finnew Solutions Pvt. Ltd, acquired personal finance startups Goalwise in 2020 and Index in 2021. It was in talks to acquire personal loan platform Smartcoin, but the talks fell through for reasons that were not disclosed.
“I always look to see which particular company or entity has done something really well in their core competency part, and how that fits strategically with Niyo,” Bhaskar said. “Our search is forever on the lending side because our vision is to enable more travelers who are in India to travel abroad. Lending has always been on our radar, but finding a really good fit is difficult.”
Bhaskar added that Niyo’s main goal for this year is profitability. In 2022-23, the company’s losses narrowed to ₹177 crores of ₹205.6 crore in 2021-22, according to regulatory filings sourced by Tofler. Its income from operations ballooned to ₹131.4 crores of ₹47.4 crore in the same period.
The company navigated a complex regulatory environment where third-party banking entities are under constant scrutiny. However, Bhaskar said the Reserve Bank of India’s concept of a self-regulatory organization for fintech companies provides comfort as there is constructive dialogue and makes regulatory aspects less challenging.
Last week, RBI released a draft framework outlining broad functions, governance standards and eligibility criteria for setting up a self-regulatory organization for fintech companies.
Founded by Vinay Bagri and Virender Bisht, Niyo has two lines of business – global banking and crowd banking. Its investors include Accel and Lightrock.
The company offers its digital banking services in partnership with DCB Bank, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Yes Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of Mauritius.
Niyo is also working with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enable QR code payments for merchants and facilitate UPI-based international payments, Bhaskar said.
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Published: 22 Jan 2024, 18:19 IST