How Perfios became the bridge between data and insights for the financial sector
It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data,” the iconic fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, created by British novelist Arthur Conan Doyle, said. That holds true even today.
It is an approach that is thriving in this era of data overload. And one firm that seems wedded to this philosophy is the 16-year-old Bengaluru-headquartered Perfios Software Solutions. But what it also believes, per its website, is that “It is also a capital mistake to delay the automation of data-driven processes.”
Perfios—founded by V.R. Govindarajan, Co-founder Director, and Debasish Chakraborty, Co-Founder and CTO, in 2008—helps banks and financial institutions bridge the gap between data and insights.
On that count, this B2B fintech firm has had considerable success so far. It has become a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry with a suite of more than 75 products and solutions that address the customer journey across banking, insurance, and embedded commerce. Today, it operates across 18 countries, supporting over 1,000 financial institutions.
The company assists financial institutions shape their end-to-end customer lifecycle from origination, onboarding, decisions, and underwriting to monitoring processes at scale and speed.
It is because of this impressive track record that Perfios was adjudged the Best Fintech in the Value Added Services category by the BT-KPMG jury.
“With our comprehensive tech stack of analytics SaaS products, we deliver around 8.2 billion data points to banks and financial institutions every year to facilitate faster decisions and process 1.7 billion transactions a year with an AUM of `3 lakh crore, significantly accelerating access to credit and financial services for the end customer,” says Sabyasachi Goswami, CEO of Perfios Software Solutions.
This confidence is built on steady financial performance. Its income has consistently increased over the last five years, rising from `43.6 crore in FY19 to `407 crore in FY23, or about 933% increase. It has grown dramatically over the last five years, reporting an Ebitda margin of 18% in FY23, as per data sourced by the company.
On the back of Perfios’s strong data analytics and aggregation capabilities, some of India’s biggest banks have launched same-day loan products and instant loan approvals.
“Almost 90% of financial instituions in India use Perfios to power their customer journey,” says Goswami.
Since venturing into insurance, Perfios has introduced its Fraud, Waste, and Abuse solution, streamlining the labour-intensive fraud investigation process. Additionally, the company has broadened its offerings by entering the HR tech sector with One Vigil. It serves as a background verification and intelligence platform for candidate hiring and onboarding.
“We actively integrate AI into our product basket through offline training and real-time inference. This enables us to analyse vast amounts of data for fraud analytics and document categorisation,” explains Goswami.
It is now prioritising improvements in its use cases by utilising large language models (LLMs) to deliver cost-effective solutions. Besides, the company is crafting products in domains like digital identity and background verification to attain flawless accuracy in verification procedures. Additionally, proactive measures are being taken to advance solutions capable of detecting and mitigating deepfake technology, particularly in applications like video KYC.
The firm is also looking to diversify its revenue streams by expanding product offerings and entering new markets.
In 2021, the company underwent significant leadership changes as it sought to position itself for an initial public offering (IPO) in the coming years. Goswami says the desire to go public is part of an organic evolution rather than a specific goal.
He says, “We continue to prioritise financial health and governance structures to meet the rigorous standards expected of public companies.”
Considering the appetite for digital solutions to streamline processes, analysts are upbeat. “Automating transactions and digitising processes have spurred rapid growth not only for Perfios but also for other companies operating in similar domains. This acceleration is crucial for advancing the BFSI sector,” says Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist at investment management firm WealthMills Securities.
These companies have benefitted from the growth that the Indian economy has witnessed, Bathini says.
“India’s rapid economic growth has resulted in these companies generating substantial revenue, with Perfios being a notable player,” he says.
With the digitisation journey of companies reaching a peak, Perfios has reason to be optimistic about the future.
@imNavneetDubey
