New Delhi: Spice Money, a rural fintech company, has partnered with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to build a digital financial services platform for consumers in rural and semi-urban India. The new platform aims to introduce products across three key segments: healthcare services, financial services and entrepreneur solutions.
Currently, pilots are underway for savings and credit-related products under the financial services category. According to a company spokesperson, the rollout timeline for this product has not been shared. However, Spice Money has introduced cash collection services, such as enterprise cash management and EMI collection, and government services, such as pan card creation, in Q4 of FY2023.
Executive Director, Co-Founder and CEO of Spice Money, Sanjeev Kumar, said, “We are looking to build on the rural market opportunities of today, which include credit and savings, while also investing in the disruptive revenue pools of tomorrow to address future rural customer demands.”
Across 700 districts, Spice Money has onboarded 12 lakh merchants, covering 75 per cent of India’s pin codes. It has about 20 million monthly customers who use its services, including AADHAR enabled payment system for cash withdrawal, bill payments, mini ATM, loans, online shopping, and mPoS services.
India has made significant strides in financial and digital inclusion over the years, thanks to government initiatives like AADHAR, the Jan Dhan Yojana, and UPI, along with the Digital India campaign. According to government figures, over 48.9 crore bank accounts have been opened across the country under the Jan Dhan Yojana. In April 2023, India also recorded 8.8 billion UPI transactions.
Spice Money’s digital financial services platform aims to address the needs of rural and semi-urban consumers, who have traditionally been underserved by formal financial institutions. The platform will introduce solutions that enable greater financial inclusion and offer access to essential services like healthcare and entrepreneurship solutions.
The company’s partnership with BCG will enable it to leverage BCG’s expertise in digital transformation and financial services to develop a robust and scalable platform. This partnership will help Spice Money to tap into the potential of rural India’s growing digital economy and enable it to serve the needs of millions of consumers across the country.
In conclusion, Spice Money’s new digital financial services platform will provide much-needed access to financial services, entrepreneurship solutions, and healthcare services to rural and semi-urban consumers. The company’s focus on addressing the needs of this segment of consumers will enable it to tap into the growing digital economy in rural India.
