Fintech startup NiYO raises $13.2 Mn from existing and new investors

Bengaluru-based NiYO, a meal voucher and employee benefits solutions provider, has raised $13.2 million in a Series A round from investors, including Social Capital, JS Capital Llc, Horizon Ventures and Prime Venture Partners India.

NiYO, which had received $1 million in seed funding last year from Prime Venture, has taken the total amount raised to more than $14 million.

The fintech startup company will use the fresh funds to strengthen and expand its product suite, hire new talent and expand into tier ii and tier iii cities, reports Mint.

Founded in 2015 by Vinay Bagri and Virender Bisht, NiYO currently has around 500 corporate clients and 100,000 salaried employees. It aims to serve 5,000 organizations and over 1 million salaried employees by the end of 2018.

NiYO has tie-ups with YES Bank and DCB Bank to provide bank account services. It provides a limited amount of free withdrawals from ATMs, after which users are charged for cash withdrawals.

With Aadhaar eKYC and self-onboarding enabled on the NiYO app, users can access their account details and keep a tab on their expenditures and allowances digitally.

According to Bisht, the startup monetises by charging an annual fee for this product, that the employee or the employer pays. It also makes money from Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges, for transactions made at a point of sale counters.

In October last year, Mumbai-based digital payments and meal vouchers company Zeta tied up with Kotak Mahindra Bank to extend its corporate payment solutions through newly launched Paymint feature to companies, who have their employees’ salary accounts with the bank.

In the same month, Sodexo, the leader in employee motivation & benefits services, announced an innovative solution in partnership with online grocery startup Grofers.

The paper voucher company launched an IVR-based payment solution that will enable users of Sodexo Meal cards to pay for groceries and other food items on delivery, at their doorstep.