The fintech demand in India is the third-largest in the world — rounding out 2021 with a minimum valuation of $31 billion. Today, it is one of the industries with the greatest growth in the country. The Fintech sector in India has more than 2.000 startups and over 17 Fintech enterprises that have earned Unicorn Status — this status is given to startups that have achieved a value of $1B.
In this article we’ll discuss FPL technologies, one of the main Fintechs in the region that is exploding this very fertile ground. Give you an idea of what FPL technologies are, and how they are helping the country when it comes to digital banking and the financial needs of consumers.
What are FPL technologies?
Banks are awkward, archaic and incredibly tedious when it comes to obtaining a credit card and the way they approach customer support — their face-to-face services, their phone assistance assistance, etc.
FPL technologies basically took a long hard look at the issues, at the demands and decided to shift the paradigm, eliminating all those points of contention and creating a faster and more convenient service for all its customers. One that is based on technology, proprietary algorithms and, premise digital services.
FPL offers an online credit card service one that can be activated and accounts opened straight from your phone. One of the great things about the services is that it supercharges your ability to manage and boost your current credit score — or start crafting one from scratch. This is thanks to its OneScore initiative/product.
OneScore - OneCard is a private, highly secure service that does not share user data with any other platform, unless the user permits it. This is part of the shift FPL is enforcing, and part of the value system the company likes to promote. A major difference between its platform and that of other banks — a new concept unheard off by people in the country.
Currently, FPL Technologies is available for 12 cities in India. The platform was launched in 2020, and its big ticket item OneScore already has more than 10 million users. In January 2022, FPL Technology raised 75 million USD in a Series C round. The current QED Investors led the round. GIC Singapore, Janchor, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, and Hummingbird Ventures also participated.
How is FPL Technologies helping out?
FPL Technologies — Innovations in the field
The implementation of new technological advances is bringing with it new innovations, opening up the market, and creating more opportunities. For example, overall efficiency has seen a remarkable improvement in processes such as payments, claims processing, and savings. This is thanks to e-KYC, video KYC, IoT, AI, digital signatures, and Governmental help.
Major FPL Technologies in Investments in India
According to Tracxn’s database, the industry’s funding/budget up until June 2021 was about US$20.8 billion. In less than two years that capital has increased by 36 percent. With the help of investors, startups can continue to innovate and create new strategies or improvements to their platforms and services.
The company booked $75M in its latest fundraiser, which is part of its new Series C, with a post-money valuation of $750M. This latest round featured investors such as QED Investors, Janchor Partners, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners, and Hummingbird Ventures. Without the help of all these funds, the company could not be what it is today — today, thanks to this cash-flow, FPL Technologies services are advancing at a galloping pace.
FPL Technologies — Government support
Government support is always key in all major fintech endeavors and in the case of India it is critical. The federal government sees the opportunities fintechs bring to the country. The current Indian government has been supporting all Fintech companies, not only by mankind friendly regulations but also improving critical assistance and industrial helps services. Government support has created a rapid acceleration of the fintechs in India.
How is FPL tech helping India?
Technology has become an important pillar in the lives of all the everyday man —- to the point that modernity and the way we relate with our ecosystem is defined by how well connected we are to tech. Everything is networked together, everything is simpler thanks to technological advances.
This is a significant change and one that countries like India, with huge societal gulfs and massive socio- economic differences, have had a hard time adapting to.
Advancements in technology have also brought about a significant change in the way traditional financial services organizations operate. FPL tech is helping shift those traditions and change the optics. India, like most nations of its kind, was always based its commerce on the use of cash, thanks to companies like FPL, it can now change to a more virtual vehicle.
This helps the country since the economic model is more in line with those of other highly digital nations — a drive was the 2020 pandemic. The arrival of covid-19 made the adoption of the digital an essential aspect of modernity. This included virtual payment and online banking.
Challenges of FPL Techs
Use of cash and digital payments
India is a nation whose economy is still based on the use of cash as a payment vehicle, most of its population is ignorant of all the new methods available to them. FPL is a platform that offers online banking and one of its major challenges is getting people to trust them and understand the potential of its services and how they can benefit from them.
Lack of stable internet services
Although the situation has been improved in the past years there is still massive digital debt between the government and its citizens. India is a nation that suffers from internet blackouts, low connectivity, and still has a swath of land without continually access to the net. There is much to be done. Companies that oversee the internet and mobile service still find it difficult to improve their services and better bandwidth for secure data transfer. This is a critical issue that FPL is trying to rectify.
Cybersecurity
Due to the growth that India is having, specifically in the banking industry, cybersecurity can be difficult to maintain. Today, it is one of the biggest risks - according to the World Bank - that India is facing. Startups are having problems maintaining a firm grip on the secure network, and stat breaches, which constitute at an average a $5 million dollar price-tag for attacked companies, are rampant.
