Salary-on-demand startup Refyne raises $82 mn in funding led by Tiger Global

Refyne, India's first and largest Earned Wage Access (EWA) platform, on Wednesday announced the closing of its $82 million (Rs 607 crore) in a new funding round led by Tiger Global. 

The Series B round also saw significant contribution coming in from existing international investors - QED Investors, partners of DST Global, Jigsaw VC, XYZ Capital, and RTP Global - and new investor Digital Horizon, the company said in a statement. 
 
The startup will utilise the proceeds from the latest capital infusion for product development, expansion of the team, and to ramp up various business functions. 

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Within 10 months of being operational, Refyne has raised a total of $ 106 million. The company has pioneered EWA (earned wage access) for the Indian workforce, establishing a stronghold as the leader for on-demand pay in the market. "In less than a year, Refyne's transacting user base has grown 68x and the platform recorded 165x increase in the number of transactions over the period, underscoring the liquidity gap being addressed by EWA," the statement read further. 
 
EWA, also called as on-demand pay, enables employees to withdraw their earned salary by accessing a portion of their accumulated wages, ahead of their payday without disrupting the payroll, with the remaining amount being paid on the regular salary day. Since EWA is not a loan, Refyne doesn't charge any interest or processing fee for withdrawals.  
 
Although the company did not divulge the details regarding the exact valuation post the latest funding round, Refyne's co-founder and CEO Chitresh Sharma said the valuation has grown 6.5 times from the valuation during the Series A round. 
 
Commenting on the latest fundraise, he said, "Refyne has been on a hyper-growth trajectory and the Series B will help scale our business to build financial inclusivity in the workplace and eliminate predatory lending." 
 
Refyne's partner companies comprise Practo, TeamLease, CARS24, Tenon, Shadowfax, Rebel Foods, Acko, BlackBuck, Arti Group, Cafe Coffee Day, among several others. 

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Alex Cook, Partner, Tiger Global, said, "We believe Refyne will be the preferred partner for large employers that want to offer Earned Wage Access. We are excited to support Chitresh, Apoorv and the Refyne team, as they work to improve financial wellness for the Indian workforce." 
 
Founded by Chitresh Sharma and Apoorv Kumar, Refyne partners with employers to enable their employees to access a portion of their accrued but unpaid salary any time before payday. The company has partnered with more than 150 organisations, catering to over 700,000 employees. It expects to reach more than 3 million employees in 12 months. 
 
Refyne's angel investors and advisors include Indian fintech veterans Susir Kumar, Founder of Intelenet, Bobby Mehta, Chairman of Jones Lang Lasalle's Board, Former Head of TransUnion and Allstate Corp., and private global venture capital investor and entrepreneur Oliver Jung. 
 
Asia's first comprehensive report on EWA and financial well-being in India by Ernst and Young, in partnership with Refyne, noted that 81% of employees face liquidity crunch between pay cycles.  
 
The report further stated that EWA can help the workforce bridge this gap and manage their monthly finances, resulting in positive relationships between employers and employees and improved productivity. This is reiterated by the fact that close to 60% of employees said they would consider EWA as a deciding factor for their next job, it added. 

The report also noted employers who implemented EWA observed a significant drop in attrition, faster talent acquisition, enhanced workforce productivity, and improved eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score).