Neobanking startup Niyo raises $100 Mn led by Accel and Lightrock

Consumer neo-banking platform Niyo has raised $100 million in its Series C round led by Accel and Lightrock India with participation from Beams Fintech Fund. Existing investors Prime Venture Partners, JS Capital have also participated in this round.

The fresh proceeds have come after a gap of more than 30 months for the Bengaluru-based company which had raised $35 million in Series B round from Horizons Ventures, Tencent and others in July 2019.

The company will utilize the funds for product innovation, marketing and branding, increasing its distribution footprint, and hiring top talent across functions, said Niyo in a press release.

Seven-year-old Niyo offers digital savings accounts and other banking services in partnership with banks. The company currently claims to serve about 4 million customers across its banking and wealth management products with over 10,000 new users added daily to its platform. Niyo has sales presence in more than 20 states and currently serving over 7,000 corporates. 

Founded by Vinay Bagri and Virender Bisht, Niyo has also launched a digital salary account this month and is in the process of launching lending products personal loans, credit cards, integrated forex and other banking products.

The company has made a couple of acquisitions in the past including Bengaluru-based personal finance startup Index in June 2021 and Goalwise in July 2020.

Even after seven years of operations, Niyo has not been able to scale its business in terms of revenue. For the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2021, the company’s operating revenue dwindled 4% to Rs 24.30 crore which stood at Rs 25.32 crore in FY20. 

As per Fintrackr’s analysis, a majority of Niyo’s operating revenue came through service fees whereas support services contributed Rs 2.8 crore, making up 11.6% of its total operating revenue. The company had posted a loss of Rs 80 crore in FY21.