Transforming rural India: Fintech startups bridging the financial divide

In India, many rural and semi-urban residents lack access to formal financial services. However, fintech entrepreneurs are changing that. They are providing online banking and financial services like Investment, Aeps, digital ledger apps, and digital payments to underserved areas, making it easier for small enterprises and merchants, and empowering small businesses. These fintech startups also educate individuals about finances through investment and financial planning articles and videos. By using technology and creativity, fintech businesses are bridging the gap between underserved areas and established banking infrastructure, promoting financial inclusion and empowering individuals to build a brighter future.

Here are some distinct Fintech startups that are empowering and solving the financial gaps in India’s rural areas:

Also Read | Rural fintech ensuring faster digital adoption

BharatPe (Digital Payment): Bharatpe is a financial startup that provides small companies and merchants with digital payment solutions. The business is present in more than 100 Indian cities and provides a few services, including UPI payments, credit and debit card payments, and payments via QR codes. Additionally, BharatPe provides loans to merchants and small enterprises to aid in business expansion. The loans are disbursed quickly—often in less than 24 hours—and little documentation is needed.

BankSathi (social commerce fintech platform)- BankSathi, through its network of 1.5 million financial advisors recommends suitable financial products to clients in Tier 2, Tier 3, and remote locations throughout India’s 18000 PIN codes. The company provides product recommendations in a variety of financial categories, such as bank accounts, credit cards, loans, demat accounts, and insurance policies. BankSathi seeks to provide its users with a simple and seamless experience by leveraging technology, thereby empowering rural customers with previously unavailable financial services. The company is affiliated with more than 60 financial institutions, such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bank of Baroda. Recently, IRDAI approved BankSathi’s insurance license, allowing it to offer a diverse portfolio of financial products, including the most affordable insurance options for clients in tier 2 and less developed regions.

Aye Finance: Aye Finance is a NBFC built around the mission to solve the challenges of funding MSMEs and enabling their inclusion into the mainstream of the economy. Aye Finance differentiates itself by creating a technically enabled process that builds credit insights through a variety of available business and behavioural data. This effective credit appraisal coupled with the use of modern workflow automation, and a small but engaged workforce is helping bridge the gap between the MSMEs and organised lending. The cloud-computing architecture enables flexibility delivery of customer service at an affordable cost. The company also funds its non-profit initiative to coach MSMEs on market knowledge, business book-keeping and advising on operations techniques.

KhataBook (Digital Ledger): KhataBook is an app that functions as a digital ledger and is made to assist small business owners in keeping track of their transactions and outlays. The app’s straightforward user interface and availability in a variety of languages make it simple for users to manage their accounts. With a presence in more than 700 Indian locations, KhataBook aspires to digitalise the informal economy by giving small companies access to technology. The app enables small businesses to keep a digital ledger, create invoices, and remind clients to make payments.

Propelld (Education Financing): Propelld is a Bangalore-based FinTech startup specialising in education lending. The brand’s main vision is to democratise access to education and drive-up India’s gross enrolment ratio (GER) by removing financial barriers to the right education with customised financial products. Supporting the overarching education infrastructure, the company provides personalised loan products based on the course’s end-use and borrower’s profile. Their 100 per cent digital hassle-free process is aimed towards realising the educational dreams of tier 2 and tier 3 students and their families Unlike traditional lenders, Propelld has a unique underwriting system which looks beyond the credit score and focuses also on the future potential of the student.