Top 6 Fintech Products in India

Introduction 

 

Fintech products combine the latest technology available in the market with financial services and help financial institutions provide better financial services to the various businesses. 

 

At times, they do so without any involvement of financial institutions as well, as can be seen by the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies due to the presence of the blockchain network.

 

Even though cryptocurrencies are not accepted by most of the countries of the world, they have forced countries into seriously considering digital currencies for actual transactional purposes. Such is the power of fintech products.

 

In this blog, we’ll look at the various fintech products revolutionizing the various roles of the financial industry including lending, payments, insurance, trading, advising and money management and look at some examples of fintech companies and platforms operating in India.

 

 

Top Fintech Products List

 

1. Crowdfunding

 

Crowdfunding platforms allow internet users to send or receive money from each other using the platform and allow various individuals and businesses to pool funds which may later be used for a variety of purposes. 

 

Crowdfunding platforms make funding more convenient and have been expanding exponentially in the past few years. They are replacing the traditional banking role of funding and have been implemented by a lot of banks themselves as well. Such platforms are particularly helpful for startups and small enterprises which otherwise face issues in raising funds.

 

Few examples of crowdfunding platforms:

 

• Kickstarter: Kickstarter is one of the earliest crowdfunding platforms in India. The platform is well renowned for the huge variety of initiatives it hosts. Films, literature, research, and innovation are just a few of the campaign types that are frequently featured on this platform. 

• Wishberry: In contrast to Kickstarter, Wishberry is explicitly made for creative projects. It is a Kickstarter-inspired initiative established with the purpose of bringing creative and innovative ideas to life.

• Indiegogo: Indiegogo is more than just a crowdsourcing platform. It's both a finance source and a marketplace. As compared to the other crowdfunding platforms which focus on ideas, actual products are focused on Indiegogo.

 

Other famous crowdfunding platforms in India include FuelADream, Fundable, Ketto, Catapooolt, Milaap and Crowdera.

 

 

2. Mobile Payments

 

Mobile payments platforms are one of the most widely used fintech products of today. They reduce the hassle of carrying hard cash and save a lot of time and energy. In Africa, mobile payments have been a huge success and have helped the economy recover from various recessions in the past. 

 

The global mobile payment market crossed the conceited $1 trillion mark in 2019 and continues to expand everyday. Mobile payment platforms help increase transparency and decrease corruption. 

 

The domain of mobile payments keeps on increasing with companies like Google, Amazon, Alibaba and Apple joining the market. 

 

Examples of mobile payment platforms in India:

 

• Google Pay: Google Pay, formerly known as Tez, is India’s most popular online payment app and this can be attributed to the trust associated with Google’s brand. Even though it came after other mobile payment apps, it has the biggest customer base along with cool features including scratch cards and coupons.

• PhonePe: Even though Google Pay is more famous, PhonePe is the app that revolutionized the online payment culture in India. PhonePe provides a myriad of services including bill payments, shopping, food ordering, etc. Learn more about how PhonPe uses  technology.

• PayTM: PayTM is a very well-known mobile payment app in India. A vast variety of vendors have accounts with PayTM in India and this number is increasing at an exponential rate. PayTM App offers PayTM Wallet, PayTM UPI and Paytm Mall. 

 

(Related road: Paytm Karo - The Story of Paytm)

 

Other famous mobile payment apps in India include Amazon Pay, BHIM App, Freecharge, PayZapp, JioMoney Wallet and MobiKwik.

 

 

3. Insurance

 

Fintech in insurance is commonly known as insurtech and includes all the domains of insurance from home insurance to vehicle insurance to life insurance as well as data protection. 

 

Insurtech is a relatively new concept and has seen a very positive response from the global markets with insurtech startups seeing tremendous success and might even surpass the traditional insurance industry in the near future. 

 

(Related blog: Types of Insurance)

 

Examples of insurtech platforms include:

 

• Acko: Acko is India's first entirely digital general insurance firm. It uses deep data analytics to deliver customised pricing to clients. It analyses consumer interactions and behaviours and then recommends insurance policies based on those findings.

• Artivatic: Artivatic offers a SaaS platform for insurance that automates the whole insurance process. Their operations make use of natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), behaviour analysis (BA), artificial intelligence (AI), and the internet of things (IoT).

• Mantra Labs: Mantra Labs is a company that helps insurance companies solve their most critical front- and back-office concerns. It mainly uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimize the whole insurance-sale process.

 

Other famous insurtech companies in India include Pentation Analytics, PolicyBazaar and Toffee Insurance.

 

 

4. Stock Trading Apps

 

Earlier people had to go to like NSE (National Stock Exchange) and BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) directly in order to buy or sell stocks. 

 

Stock trading apps have revolutionized the concept of stock trading by enabling users to buy and sell stocks with just a simple click of a button. This has increased the number of traders and investors manifold and has increased the liquidity in the markets. 

 

Examples of stock trading platforms in India are:

 

• Zerodha Kite: Zerodha Kite is considered to be the best trading application in India. This is primarily because of the user-friendly nature of the kite app and the nominal amount of brokerages charged by Zerodha.

• 5 Paisa: 5 Paisa trading app provides a lower charge than its competitors, 10p/ executed order which provides it with an edge.

• Upstox Pro: Upstox Pro is also a major player in the trading platforms domain. It provides a vast variety of trading and investing opportunities and a decent trading platform.

 

Other famous trading service providers in India include Angel Broking, ShareKhan, Edelweiss, Astha Trade, HDFC Securities, ICICI Direct and Fyers.

 

 

5. Robo-Advising

 

Another beautiful concept introduced by fintech is the concept of robo-advising and this involves algorithm based asset and portfolio management recommendations thus increasing efficiency and lowering costs drastically in the same. 

 

This concept continues to disrupt the traditional Asset and Portfolio Management sector with time. Examples of robo-advising platforms include:

 

• 5 Paisa: The 5 Paisa.com robo-advisor is backed by India Infoline finance Limited (IIFL). The 5Paisa platform lets a user trade various asset classes as well and has a free version available which makes it attractive.

• ET Money: The portfolio suggestion dashboard on ET Money is one of a kind. It provides one with numerous investment possibilities based on predicted returns based on various combinations of monthly SIP and investment duration.

• Orowealth: Money Mitr is the name of FundsIndia's robo adviser. It provides mutual fund portfolios for a variety of investment needs, including lump sum, SIP-oriented, tax-saving, long-term, and goal-oriented investments.

 

Other robo advising tools are provided by Orowealth, Scripbox, Groww, etc. in India.

 

 

6. Money Management Apps

 

Money management apps help in managing the earnings and more importantly expenses of the user. They make it very easy to manage expenses which is in itself a laborious job other-wise. Essentially they act as one’s personal finance manager and are becoming more and more innovative in terms of features.

 

Example of money management apps include:

 

• mTrakr: mTrakr is a money management app that assists you in managing your wealth as well as your income and spending. The mTrakr Software is a very complete app that covers all areas of personal finance as well as all of a common man's day-to-day necessities.

• Splitwise: Splitwise is a creative solution of splitting bills in a recorded and systematic manner. It is an innovative app and is particularly common among college going students.

• Chillr: Chillr is a money management app launched by HDFC India. The app provides a user the ability to track expenses and transfer money.

 

Other money management apps include Moneycontrol, ET Money, Mint, Clarity Money, Wally and Money View.

 

(Also check: What is Digital Money?)

 

 

Conclusion

 

In this blog, we discussed a few of the recognized companies transforming the fintech space in India and improving the ease of usage and accessibility of financial means in India. 

 

There are a lot of other companies including Lendingkart, MoneyTap, Instamojo, Cred, Razorpay, PineLabs, etc. which have not been mentioned in the blog but are key drivers of the fintech space and a lot more startups are coming up.

 

Fintech products continue to revolutionize the various day to day services traditionally provided by banks and other financial institutions. They have proved to be a huge success so far and the influence of the various fintech products would continue to increase in the future. The future of the financial industry lies in the hands of fintech.