Write up on Top 10 FinTech Start-ups who Revolutionizing the Financial Markets in the World By Madhurima Tiwari

 Write up on Top 10 FinTech Start-ups who Revolutionizing the Financial Markets in the World

By @Madhurima Tiwari

 

Fintech, short for financial technology, has become a crucial part of the global economy., all financial tasks were completed through paperwork only, as a paper-based medium was considered to be the safest. But with the development of technology, the internet has emerged as the preferred platform for financial transactions.

 

 RAZORPAY   

 

             Founded in Bangalore, Razorpay focuses on the payment needs of startups and enterprises. With Razorpay, merchants can easily accept, process, and disburse money to and from their dealers. It was founded in 2014 by Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar.

 

Thousands of clients use its service as it allows an online business to accept, process, and distribute digital payments through various modes like debit cards, credit cards, net banking, UPI, and prepaid digital wallets. It is one of the biggest fintech companies in Bangalore.

 

    RAZORPAY logo

 

1. Paytm

Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Founded: 2010

 

Paytm was founded in 2010 and is India’s largest payment company that offers consumers multi-source and multi-destination payment solutions. They allow consumers to make payments from any bank account to any other bank account free of cost, i.e., 0% fee charges. Over 8 million merchants have availed its comprehensive payment solutions.

 

Paytm was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma and is owned by One97 Communications and is licensed by RBI. The Paytm app allows users to shop for both physical and digital goods, and also pay for DTH plans, bill payments, and mobile recharges. 

   PAYTM logo

 

 

3. Upstox

Founder: Ravi Kumar, Kavitha Subramanian and Shrini Viswanath

Founded: 2009

 

Upstox provides financial services such as investments in stocks, mutual funds, derivatives, commodities, ETFs, and digital gold. It ensures full transparency in pricing by offering zero brokerage for equity trades and up to INR 20 per order for intraday, commodities, and currencies.

 

The founders, Ravi Kumar, Kavita Subramanian, and Srini Vishwanath conceived this idea of making trading and investing easier and cheaper and created Upstox for fellow young Indians. The Mumbai-based company is backed by industry giants like Tiger Global and Ratan Tata and currently has more than 250 employees and the fintech is striving to make trading a second nature for its users.

 

   UPSTOX Logo

 

4. Cred

Founder: Kunal Shah

Founded: 2018

 

Cred is a fintech startup founded by Kunal Shah, the founder of FreeCharge. The app aims to make paying credit card bills simpler and rewards you for paying them on time. The app asks for your phone number to check your credit score with Cibil, CRIF and Experian. 

 

   CRED Logo 

 

 5. ETMoney

Founder: Mukesh P Kalra

Founded: 2005

ETMoney is a full-stack investment platform with a wide range of products in the domains of investments, credit cards and loans, insurance, and financial tools. It aims to simplify the financial journey of retail customers.

ETMoney was founded by Mukesh Kalra in 2015. A passionate company that indulges in personal finance, has become the first fintech company in India to introduce Aadhar-based SIP payments. With more than 100 crore bank accounts linked to Aadhar, the company plans to simplify installment payments with Aadhar OTP verifications.

The company has also partnered with Google Pay for a simplified way to invest in Mutual Funds and National Pension System. 

  ET Money Logo

6. Instamojo

Founders: Sampad Swain, Akash Gehani, Aditya Sengupta, Harshad Sharma

Founded: 2012

Sampad Swain, Akash Gehani and Aditya Sengupta co-founded Instamojo in September 2012. Instamojo started as a solution provider of digital payments which now has progressively grown into a robust online platform for enterprises like micro, small, and medium so that they start, manage, and grow their businesses online.

MojoCapital from Instamojo helps disperse bite-sized short-term credit loans which are worth around $2 million. MojoCapital caters primarily to its merchants on a monthly basis, and it has shown a projected growth of 25% on the month on month basis. 

7. PolicyBazaar

Founder: Yashish Dahiya, Avaneesh Nirjar, Alok Bansal

Founded: 2008

PolicyBazaar is an online insurance aggregator for comparative analysis of products that are offered by various insurers using parameters like price, quality, and key benefits. It helps users compare insurance policies and assists them in selecting the best or the most relevant policy that can be purchased online or offline.

PolicyBazaar was founded by Yashish Dahiya, Alok Bansal, and Avaneesh Nirjar in June 2008 in Gurugram. They have raised over $650 million as of 2020. The online platform began as a price-comparison website and an information portal for learning about insurance and related programs; it then expanded to become a marketplace for insurance policies.

    

  PolicyBazaar Logo

8. MobiKwik

Founders: Bipin Preet Singh, Upasana Taku

Founded: 2009

MobiKwik is an Indian fintech company that was founded in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku. It is headquartered in Gurugram. MobiKwik is a digital wallet service provider that offers services mobile and online payments, phone and DTH recharge, mobile transfers, online shopping and a lot more.

It allows users to store up to INR 50,000 in a MobiKwik wallet that can be used to recharge mobile, pay bills, and shop across various channels. Their users can also use the partial payment feature for ticket reservations and cash pick-up for bus tickets booking.

MobiKwik's investors include Sequoia Capital, NET1, GMO Venture Partners to name a few. Post demonetization, MobiKwik has made it free to transfer money from your wallet to your bank account. 

 Mobikwik Logo 

9. ZestMoney

Founders: Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman

Founded: 2015

Do you want to buy something offline on EMI but don’t own a credit card? Zest Money has a buy now pay later policy and offers an EMI option that you can use to purchase things online or offline from its partner merchants. It is another Bangalore-based startup founded by Lizzie Chapman, Ashish Anantharaman, and Priya Sharma. 

  ZestMoney Logo 

10. Lendingkart

Founder: Harshvardhan Lunia and Mukul Sachan

Founded: 2014

Lendingkart is an online financing company founded by Harshvardhan Lunia and Mukul Sachan in 2014. Lendingkart provides loans for working capital needs for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises); these loans are quick and collateral-free with minimal paperwork. 

LendingKart Logo  

Mi

Madhurima Tiwari

MBA 

FinTech Manager  

What are Assets? List of Top Assets Madhurima Tiwari

What are Assets? List of Top Assets

@Madhurima Tiwari

An asset is anything of value or a resource of value that can be converted into cash. Individuals, companies, and governments own assets. For a company, an asset might generate revenue, or a company might benefit in some way from owning or using the asset.

1. Real Estate Crowdfunding 

It might come as little surprise, but numerous types of real estate investments appeal to many people for multiple reasons:

the tangible nature of the investment

low-correlation with the stock market

multiple return components (assets that appreciate in value and also yield rental income)

tax advantages.

However, the hands-on factor of owning, renovating and maintaining your property as well as acting as a landlord deters many people from getting started. 

2. FundRise → Investing in Real Estate Portfolios 

Minimum Investment to Start: $10

Type of Real Estate Investment: Commercial and Residential Real Estate

Type of Investor: All Investors

FundRise differs from the two companies above by choosing to focus on investments in real estate portfolios, or several properties in one investment.  In theory, this diversifies your investment risk while providing you access to several properties simultaneously.

To date, the most popular real estate investment platform offering a portfolio approach is Fundrise. This investment platform provides several options for you to review and invest your money.  Their available portfolio options include:

The Starter Portfolio – This option allows investors to start investing in real estate with as little as $10.

Core Portfolios (Supplemental, Balanced, and Long-Term Growth) – Each of these “Core Portfolios” comes with a higher minimum investment of $1,000 and targets a different investment objective.  Supplemental aims to provide additional passive income from real estate investing on the Fundrise platform, Long-Term Growth invests money for the primary goal of capital appreciation, while Balanced focuses on both of these investment objectives. By offering these investment portfolio options, investors can choose which investment objective best aligns with their financial goals. 

3. Certificates of Deposit (CIT Bank)

Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are offered by most banks and credit unions and are easy to open and understand. CDs are almost risk-free and insured in the United States for up to $250,000.

They are another savings instrument like savings accounts but come with longer-term commitments, varying from three months to five years.

They work by having you lend money to a bank for a set amount of time (the “term length”), with longer term lengths typically involving higher interest rates.

Much like any interest-bearing asset, the longer the term length or commitment, the higher interest rate and return you can expect to earn in exchange for losing access to your money for longer. 

4. Money market accounts 

Money market accounts are similar to online high-yield savings accounts, meaning that they earn interest and are FDIC insured.

This covers them with the obligatory $250,000 in insurance against assets held in the account in the event the depository institution fails.

Despite not carrying additional risk, they tend to pay more than a traditional savings account.

Different than CDs, which can charge penalties for early withdrawals, you can close a money market account at any time.

Further, you usually also carry the ability to withdraw money from the money market account each month through a checkbook or with a debit card. 

5. Alternative Investments (Yieldstreet) 

Minimum Investment to Start: $500

Type of Investor: All Investors

Alternative investments have become increasingly popular as fintech services open up once closed markets to the individual retail investor. These opportunities have democratized numerous markets and unlocked previously-inaccessible cash flows to pad your income from assets.

Yieldstreet is one such platform leading the charge to provide access to income generating assets in a number of asset classes.

Yieldstreet is an alternative investment platform that provides you with income-generating opportunities. These investment opportunities come backed by collateral, typically have low stock market correlation and span across various asset classes. Such asset classes include:

art finance

real estate

commercial finance

legal finance and more. 

6. Secured Peer-to-Peer Lending (MyConstant) 

Minimum Investment to Start: $10

Type of Investor: All Investors

Another income-generating investment option, MyConstant, offers P2P lending, though in a different flavor than some other P2P lenders in the space.  This service differs by serving as an alternative investment platform and offers only secured peer-to-peer loans.

This means that MyConstant requires collateral- specifically cryptocurrency- to back all loans made on their platform.  Because these loans come backed by collateral, they represent a lower risk than a non-secured P2P loan, all things being equal.

What I want to state unequivocally, however, is that MyConstant is not a federally-insured savings vehicle like some of the options mentioned in this article. Rather, MyConstant is an alternative investment platform which offers interested investors attractive risk-adjusted returns. 

7. Living Off Dividend Stocks 

Dividend-paying stocks are a great way to receive consistent earnings throughout the year.

Usually, these stocks are from more mature and established companies who are able to part with their cash flow more easily.

This occurs because there are fewer opportunities to invest and grow the company and the best manner to use these funds would be to return the cash to shareholders.

No two companies are the same and therefore the percentage rate for your dividends (dividend yield) varies by company.

Quality companies which have consistent earnings and pay shareholders dividends regularly are commonly referred to as “blue-chip stocks.”

They tend to carry less risk than growth companies, all things being equal. 

8. Bonds and Bond Index Funds 

Stocks and bonds are talked about together as often as macaroni and cheese. Bonds are essentially a loan you give to the government or a corporation.

These are very stable (as compared to stocks) and you’ll know exactly how much money to expect back when you invest in a bond.

Longer-term bonds tend to carry higher interest rates as a means for compensating you for holding their debt longer.

However, you can choose to invest in bonds of different terms based upon your personal investing objectives and goals.

You might prefer some shorter-duration cash flowing assets and therefore opt for shorter-term bonds set to mature in the coming few years. 

9. Real Estate Investment Trusts (Streitwise) 

Minimum Investment to Start: ~$5,000

Type of Investor: All Investors

Some people consider Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to be the mutual funds of real estate. REITs are a collection of properties operated by a company that uses money investors give them to buy and develop real estate.

You can choose to invest in trusts that build condos, apartment buildings, business complexes, or other facilities.

REITs pay you dividends. These are a fitting income-producing asset for people who want an easy way to get involved with real estate investing without having to purchase property themselves.

One avenue to explore for investing in REITs is by investing through Streitwise. 

10. Private Credit Investments (Percent) 

Minimum Investment to Start: $500

Type of Investor: Accredited Investors Only

Percent is an investment opportunity for accredited investors interested in accessing private credit (non-bank lending).

Percent has built a way for retail accredited investors to access a wide range of private credit opportunities with a clear view into their performance through its innovative tools and comprehensive market data.

Investors can make better-informed decisions, source and compare opportunities, and monitor performance with ease, all on the Percent network.

Additionally, investors have attraction for the alternative investment platform’s shorter term, higher yielding, and uncorrelated returns to other asset classes. 

Madhurima Tiwari

MBA Finance

FinTech Manager

Top 10 Fintech Products By Madhurima Tiwari

 

Top 10 Fintech Products 

By @Madhurima Tiwari 

 

Market Insights

2020 was the year when global auto sales declined by 20% Millennials want to do everything through their smartphones. They want things to be as comfortable as possible. Banking is no exception. Their tech-first approach has been a real boost to the fintech industry, which is flourishing during the past few years.

This brought some new company, or competition, to the banks in the financial sector—the fintech startups. Fintech startups lead the way to the digital transformation of financial services, making transactions only one click away.

 

Each year, the fintech industry is rising, and the market is getting a lot of new fintech entrepreneurs seeking to meet the demands of clients and mold the finance's future. In fact, during the last year, fintechs gained $135.7 billion in investments worldwide. 

Chime

Chime is a California-based digital bank that provides checking accounts without any fees, allowing the options for automatic savings and early payday through direct deposit. This bank with no physical location offers a debit card, fee-free overdraft security of up to $100, and access to paychecks up to two days in advance.

Founded in 2013, Chime has made it to three Forbes lists—World's Best Banks 2020, Best Startup Employers 2020, and Fintech 50 2020. According to Crunchbase, the company has raised a total funding amount of $1.5 billion, making it one of today’s hottest fintech startups. As it’s considered as one of the US’s fastest-growing banks, we expect Chime to be one of the top fintech products for 2021.

Brex

Another startup based in California, Brex, creates credit cards specialized for companies from the tech, e-commerce, and life sciences. Last year, the company introduced its second major product, a cash management account that can substitute a bank account called Brex Cash. Its customer list includes names like Carta, Airbnb, and Flexport. One of the most interesting facts about this startup is that co-founders Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi dropped out of Stanford to start it.

Braintree

Braintree, a subsidiary of PayPal, is a Chicago-based business specializing in e-commerce businesses via smartphone and web payment services. PayPal acquired it in September 2013. Braintree has a merchant account and a payment gateway for consumers, accepting various payment types, including Venmo. The company aims to help other companies that operate online to perform more secure transactions without the possibility of a data breach. 

Verifi

For enterprises of all types spanning various markets, Verifi provides payment security technologies and risk management services. Its products help cardholders, issuers, and retailers to view real-time information that provides real-time resolution. Verifi also allows enterprises to avoid chargebacks, safely accept purchases, combat fraud, and raise billings.

 

 

Suplari

 

With clients like Hulu, Nordstrom, Wayfair, and CDK Global, Suplari is one of today’s top fintech products. The startup leverages AI and machine learning to help companies improve their cost management. Their platform provides information such as spending trends, completion of savings goals, and opportunities where funds could be spent more efficiently. According to Crunchbase, the company has raised a $13.4 million funding amount from investors like Workday Ventures, Amplify Partners, and Two Sigma Ventures. 

 

 

 

Venmo

 

Another mobile payment owned by PayPal, Venmo, started as a simple SMS platform that allowed users to send and receive money. However, the product has evolved into a social payment app that allows users to buy, connect, and share their experiences. Users can now use the Venmo app to quickly send money to their friends without requiring any credit cards, wallets, or fees. They only need to link it to their debit card. Venmo makes splitting the dinner bill among friends more comfortable than ever. Users can also use the service in Uber, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Lululemon, etc.

 

 

 

Coinbase

 

To put it simply, Coinbase is an online marketplace for cryptocurrencies. Here, users can buy, sell, and securely manage their cryptocurrencies. Coinbase serves 32 countries and has traded different digital currencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin, valued over $150 billion.

 

 

Wealthfront

 

Wealthfront is an investment robo advisor that helps users manage their assets to meet their short-term and long-term goals. The platform provides a Cash Account with checking features and an interest rate that’s 5x higher than the national average. Clients can automatically deposit their paycheck into their account, while Wealthfront takes care of all bill payments and investments crafted according to their lifestyle. During 2020, the company has grown nearly 100%, reaching $20 billion in total client assets.

 

  

Circle

 

Circle is one of the top fintech products that offer peer-to-peer payments, supported by Goldman Sachs, Jim Breyer (Facebook), and Accel. It helps organizations of all types to leverage the strength of stable coins and shared blockchains for worldwide payments and trading. The transactions are supported by the fastest-growing fiat-currency backed stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), with a $500 million market cap. So far, Circle has raised a total investment amount of $271 million, according to Crunchbase.

 

Madhurima Tiwari

MBA finance

FinTech Manager 

WHAT ARE MUTUAL FUNDS?

 WHAT ARE MUTUAL FUNDS?

A mutual fund is a pool of money managed by a professional Fund Manager.

It is a trust that collects money from a number of investors who share a common investment objective and invests the same in equities, bonds, money market instruments and/or other securities. And the income / gains generated from this collective investment is distributed proportionately amongst the investors after deducting applicable expenses and levies, by calculating a scheme’s “Net Asset Value” or NAV. Simply put, the money pooled in by a large number of investors is what makes up a Mutual Fund.

List of top mutual funds :-

SBI Liquid Fund

HDFC Liquid

Fund

SBI Equity

Hybrid Fund

HDFC Balanced

Advantage Fund

ICICI Pru Liquid

Fund

ICICI Pru

Balanced Adva…

SBI Liquid Fund

HDFC Liquid

Fund

SBI Equity

Hybrid Fund

HDFC Balanced

Advantage Fund

ICICI Pru Liquid

Fund

ICICI Pru

Balanced Adva…

Axis Bluechip

Fund

Kotak Flexicap

Fund

Mirae Asset

Large Cap Fund

Aditya Birla SL

Liquid Fund

SBI BlueChip

Fund

Axis Long Term

Equity Fund

ICICI Pru

Bluechip Fund

HDFC Mid-Cap

Opportunities …

Kotak Liquid

Fund

HDFC Flexi Cap

Fund

SBI Overnight

Fund

UTI Liquid Cash

Plan

SBI Focused

Equity Fund

UTI Flexi Cap

Fund

SBI Balanced

Advantage Fund

ICICI Pru Value

Discovery Fund

Parag Parikh

Flexi Cap Fund

Kotak Equity

Arbitrage Fund

Nippon India

Liquid Fund

ICICI Pru Savings

Fund

Mirae Asset

Emerging Blue…

Aditya Birla SL

Frontline Equit…

HDFC Corp Bond

Fund

HDFC Top 100

Fund

Axis Liquid Fund

Kotak Emerging

Equity Fund

Nippon India

Small Cap Fund

SBI Savings

Fund

ICICI Pru Equity

& Debt Fund

Axis Focused 25

Fund

HDFC Hybrid

Equity Fund

Axis Midcap

Fund

HDFC Overnight

Fund

ICICI Pru Asset

Allocator Fund

Pranita Jagtap [MBA]

Fintech Manager

AirCrews Aviation Pvt. Ltd