Finin launches as neobanking platform, partners with SBM Bank India

Moving from beta stage to the full-fledged launch, Bengaluru-based fintech start-up Finin announced today its entry as a neobanking platform in partnership with the SBM Bank India.

The start-up founded in 2019 by Suman Gandham and Sudheer Maram claims to build a consumer-focussed savings first neobank that will 'marry various concepts of wealth management apps in the fintech landscape today'. To start with, it will issue a savings account after you download the app and a VISA powered debit card.

"You can also integrate all your banking accounts at one place via our platform. This way we'll understand your savings and spending behaviour and using data analytics, AI and ML, we will give you hyper personalised banking services," says Suman Gandham, ex fintech VC and Founder & CEO, Finin.

Finin has a six-month roadmap to launch wealth management services including insurance and mutual funds, followed by disciplined consumer lending. "Based on data analytics, we'll push right products to the customers. We'll not take a market-based approach," Gandham adds.

When various banks already offer you savings account and debit cards along with other banking services, then why would anyone move to Finin?

"India is not exactly underbanked; it is in fact overbanked but the infrastructure lacks hyper-personalisation. Among various personalised solutions, Finin will offer account aggregation, bill and subscription management, smart budgeting and goal-based saving," says Gandham.

For example, once you aggregate all your bank accounts at one place, it'll tell you your asset and liabilities. It'll alert you as and when your account is about to get debited of subscription money. "The only way you know someone has charged you for a service is when you receive an SMS. Since we'll understand your bill, subscription and EMI cycle, we'll tell you who is going to charge you when, what and how much," explains Gandham.

The app will take a 'nudge' approach in which it'll proactively alert you about your spending behaviour. So, it will tell you how much you have spent on platforms like Swiggy and Amazon and 'nudge' you to save more. "Our aim is to convert Spenders and Borrowers into Savers and eventually into the Investors."

White-collar workers with a monthly salary in the range of 45,000 to 90,000 are Finin's target audience. It already has a waitlist of 15,000 users and aims to open 50,000 account in six months with a cumulative transaction value of Rs 15.5 crore.

On data security front, Neeraj Sinha, Head-Retail and Consumer Banking, SBM Bank (India), says: "We are making it quite apparent to the users that they are dealing with a bank as they download the Finin app. We are taking care of financial security. It took us more than five to six quarter to go live with Finin as we were to mandate various security checks internally."

In July 2020, Finin closed an undisclosed amount in pre-series A funding round from Unicorn India Ventures, PointOneCapital, and Astir Ventures and are in the process of going in for a Series A funding round.