New business models to take fintech beyond payments, credit

Photo credit: Mint

When you mention fintech, what comes to mind is digital payments and loans. While Paytm and PhonePe dominate digital payment apps, the likes of IndiaLends and Capital Float have been expanding access to credit for consumers and small businesses. Traditional banks too rely mainly on lending for their business.

Lately, Omidyar Network India has been broadening its ambit to support innovation in a wider range of financial services. These include emerging domains like neo-banks, sachet-sized insurance and flexible investments more suitable for tier-2+ India.

“Fintech, especially for lower income groups, has to go beyond credit,” says Roopa Kudva, MD of Omidyar Network India. “We’re coming at this with the lens of financial inclusion.”

Toffee Insurance, for example, has bite-sized products like cover for dengue. An annual payment of ₹682 covers hospitalization and medical expenses up to ₹1 lakh. It could serve someone like a vegetable vendor, for whom a bout of dengue might be a financial shock. “They’re catering to different kinds of risks more relevant to the next half billion population,” points out Kudva.

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