Fintech startup NiYO raises $13.2M to boost expansion plans

NiYO Solutions, an emerging fintech startup for salaried employees, has raised $13.2 million (Rs 85 crore) in Series A funding to drive the continued expansion of its payroll and benefits platform in India. The investment was made by Social Capital, JS Capital LLc (the family office of Jonathan Soros), and Horizons Ventures with participation by existing investor, Prime Venture Partners. In total, the company has raised more than $14 million in venture capital.

NiYO was launched in July 2016 as a pilot in Bangalore and has already clocked more than 500 corporates and is being used by over 100,000 salaried employees in these organisations, through its partnerships with YES Bank and DCB Bank. NiYO is a one-stop solution for all employee payouts; it’s solutions include salary accounts, meal cards, canteen solutions, corporate gift card, reimbursements account, international travel card and corporate credit cards.

With this fresh funding, NiYO plans to strengthen and expand its product suite for the salaried segment besides taking the product to tier 2 and 3 towns. The funding will also be used for further product development, team expansion and increasing presence in tier 1 cities. The addressable market is close to 75 million salaried employees in India who can benefit through a simple payroll & benefits solution which can increase the take home salaries and simplify financial planning & other banking needs.

"NiYO is digitizing the entire employee payroll and benefits value chain, making the process easier and more transparent for employers and employees alike. This is an area that hasn’t seen much innovation in the Indian technology ecosystem, despite the massive addressable market," said Vinay Bagri, CEO & Co-founder, NiYO.

NiYO comprises of a corporate portal for salary disbursal, payroll card to receive salary and spend on ATM/POS/Online and a mobile app to track transactions and do basic banking functions like fund transfer etc. With eKYC and self-onboarding enabled on the NiYO app, users can easily access their account details and keep a tab on their expenditures and allowances digitally.