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SBM Bank (India) – the first bank to receive banking licence in India through wholly owned subsidiary route, today announced a tie up with PayNearby, India’s largest hyperlocal fintech start up. Both firms signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build an “open banking” network towards delivering basic banking solutions as well as advanced financial services, to their customers.

The partnership would enable the Bank to offer complete suite of digital and assisted banking solutions through PayNearby’s exhaustive network of micro-enterprise and retail touchpoints. Besides a win-win for the partners; the alliance will not only empower the underbanked and unbanked segments; but also enable the micro-enterprise and retail touchpoints to earn better returns on their investments. The deployment of the banking module will be done in a phased manner and will work seamlessly with the existing platforms at PayNearby outlets and touchpoints.

Both companies are focused to build open modular architecture-led platforms, that can support plug and play APIs, ensuring highly customized environments which can expand using respective partnership approach.

Commenting on the partnership, Sidharth Rath, MD & CEO, SBM Bank (India), said, “At SBM Bank, banking has become an on-demand experience for the new age customers. Branch locations, banking hours or normal waiting time – these concepts are fast eroding. We, being a new bank, have set sights on offering a seamless experience, comprising of taking the bank to where customers prefer to be. Our partnership with Nearby Technologies is built on a commitment to facilitate financial empowerment among underbanked and unbanked segments – through the wide network comprising of the MSMEs and retail outlets. Together, we will not only make secured, digital and assisted banking accessible to these entities but also add value in their economic growth. These entities are the backbone of the Indian economy and reaching them directly with the value drivers will trigger a visible positive impact and reduce inefficiency in their economic chain.”

PayNearby is the largest agent banking platform from Nearby Technologies – built to educate, engage and push wide range of fintech services, including basic banking facilities like account opening to more advance options like the latest ecommerce experience, the latest payment technology, including UPI, P2P payments and many more. The technology platform connects consumers via local retailers and micro enterprises, to the solution providers – thereby not only expanding their offerings, but also improving their financial viability and reach. The network of PayNearby retailers, spans across 16,700+ PIN codes in the country.

Commenting on this, Anand Kumar Bajaj, MD & CEO, PayNearby remarked, “We will have more than 20 lakh new age retail partners on ground, who will be sourced in a phased manner. They will be the first touch point to onboard customers and serve as the founding stone for the neo-banking initiative. The multi-modular, scalable architecture will allow us to easily plug and play different partner APIs and create an ecosystem where in addition to banking facilities, we are also able to offer value added services based on consumer interest. From 9 Crore customers to 50 Crore beneficiaries, we believe through our distribution strength and the banking solutions from SBM Bank, we can together realize the dream of bridging the digital gap and making essential services available for all. PayNearby will transition India from assisted service to self-service nation by upgrading and reskilling our partners. We are geared to actualize this goal through our trained, tooled and tested retail partners on ground. The measure of success comes from enabling customers with what they want at a time, place or mode of their choice.”

In a research conducted by Nearby Technologies, it has been observed that consumers of all genres have shown their preference for simple to use banking interfaces and are willing to adapt to new technology and services if presented accordingly. Upgrading cash into digital currency will bring about large-scale adoption of commercial digital products in this country.

Adding his views, Neeraj Sinha, Head, Consumer & Retail Banking, SBM Bank (India)  said, “We believe a new age banking experience is built on empowering and partnering with best-in-class players who can help us solve key challenges, in our pursuit to take a superior banking experience across key markets. We are elated to partner with Nearby Technologies – a new age fintech company and together, we shall take a superior and customized banking experience to the people who need it the most.”

PayNearby, powered by SBM Bank (India) will offer all the banking solutions – ranging from account opening, banking transactions, final product sales, AEPS. Also, all payment transactions and relationship management can be executed at the outlets using the digital app or through assisted banking feature.

SBM Bank (India) Limited

SBM Bank (India) Limited (“Bank”) is the first banking institution to have been granted license by the Reserve Bank of India in December 2018 to operate as a scheduled commercial bank in India, offering universal banking services, through the wholly owned subsidiary route.  SBM Bank India is a step-down subsidiary of SBM Holdings Ltd. (erstwhile State Bank of Mauritius), a listed entity in the Mauritius Stock exchange, promoted by the Government of Mauritius.

SBM Bank India has a network of six branches located in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ramachandrapuram. SBM Bank India stands poised to embark on a new journey, innovating in every sphere of its business, expanding its service proposition to include an extensive suite of retail and wholesale banking products, to meet our clients’ wide-ranging financial and banking needs.

 About Nearby Technologies Pvt. Ltd

Incepted in April 2016, Nearby Technologies is a fintech company offering financial/non-financial services to the underbanked and unbanked segment. Nearby Technologies works on a B2B2C model through its various brands – PayNearby, InsureNearby, BuyNearby and few more. PayNearby empowers retailers at the first mile to offer digital services to local communities, thereby boosting financial inclusion in India. Retailer services are focussed on Aadhaar based banking services, Domestic Remittances, Bill Payments, Card Payments, and insurance services among others.

It was founded by Anand Kumar Bajaj, Subhash Kumar, Yashwant Lodha & Rajesh Jha who bring with them rich experience in banking, payments and financial sector. A DIPP-certified FinTech startup, has partnered with various financial institutions including YES Bank, RBL Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, CC Avenue, Bill Desk, NPCI, FASTag, NBFC and FMCG companies. It is the sole technology provider using Aadhaar Enabled Payment Services (AEPS) and IMPS to YES Bank, making them one of the only two fintech companies hosted by the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI).

PayNearby, India’s fastest growing hyperlocal FinTech startup, has been awarded ‘The DigiDhan Mission FinTech Award’ for Promotion of Digital Payments 2018-19 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. The award has been conferred as part of recognizing the company’s efforts towards building innovation in the Digital Payments Acceptance Infrastructure in Rural India.

The award was presented to Mr. Anand Kumar Bajaj Founder & CEO PayNearby by Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Law and Justice, Electronics and IT.

PayNearby which owns the world’s largest assisted agent banking network has so far successfully digitized more than 7.5 lakh+ retail stores. The company’s mission to make ‘Har Dukaan Digital Pradhan’ is envisaged to empower the local retailer and create a thriving eco-system for the local community. PayNearby has successfully enabled Digital Pradhans to provide many essential services to their local communities, including Aadhaar banking, bank savings, insurance, access to government schemes and many more.

According to a report by NITI Aayog, India’s digital payments industry is estimated to grow to $1 Tn by 2023. According to the policy think tank, while 44% of urban customers have taken up digital payment channels, rural customers are a distant second, at only 16%.

The company is digitally empowering local shopkeepers and allowing customers to be privy to a host of financial and non-financial services at the first mile. It facilitates multiple technologically-advanced payment methods that can boost India’s progression towards becoming a cashless economy.

The company is ceaselessly adding on to its touch points thus creating a penetrative digital ecosystem across the country inclusive of tier I, II and rural towns. A deep entrenched network has helped the company enjoy a niche thereby offering over-the-top banking services to the bottom of the pyramid.

Commenting on the win, Mr. Bajaj said, “We are deeply honoured to receive the illustrious ‘DigiDhan Mission FinTech Award for Promotion of Digital Payments’ for our work in rural India. While digital payments are expected to grow by leaps and bounds, there is still a significant proportion of the population in rural India that is yet to jump on the bandwagon. This recognition encourages us further to work aggressively towards the country’s vision for financial inclusion and a less-cash economy. Powered by multiple offerings and ease of user interface PayNearby is completely focused on transforming the trusted kirana store in your vicinity into a one-stop destination for all your financial services thereby helping the respective communities to evolve.”

PayNearby, India’s leading hyperlocal FinTech network is on a mission of building an eco-system that will redefine access to financial services for the underbanked. As part of this mission, the company has added a critical extension to its bouquet of services with the launch of its own network of Micro ATMs. The new offering has been launched for their retail touchpoints across the country. The company has tied up with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Equitas Small Finance Bank for this initiative.

With the launch of Micro ATM business terminal, PayNearby has strengthened its product portfolio of money withdrawal services. Now along with Aadhaar enabled money withdrawals, PayNearby retailers can also offer cash withdrawals through debit cards. This has enabled a small kirana store to become a full-fledged customer touch point for ATM like services.

A customer can simply walk to his nearest PayNearby shop (say, a grocer or a mobile recharge shop) across 16,722 PIN codes in the country and withdraw cash by swiping his debit card and entering his PIN. If they don’t have a debit card, they can use their Aadhaar number and finger print to withdraw cash. On completion of the transaction, the customer receives a confirmation from their bank via SMS besides a receipt from the retailer. In addition to cash withdrawals, customers can also request balance enquiries at these retail touch points.

A handy low cost machine, that processes card transactions seamlessly, PayNearby’s Micro ATM is a cost effective and a smart cash management tool for small retail stores and traders who deal in large chunks of cash on a daily basis. With the new offering, retailers on PayNearby’s network can efficiently use the money available in their drawer.

The company has commenced a nation-wide launch by getting the service activated on its retail network comprising of more than ~750,000 retail touch points across the country. The company aims to add over 1 lakh POS enabled Micro ATMs in the first year of its launch.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder & CEO PayNearby said, “Considering its USPs such as portability, affordability and low maintenance, Micro ATMs can very effectively drive financial inclusion while curbing down the infrastructure costs incurred especially in rural India where a full-fledged ATM becomes unviable.

Considering the depth of the PayNearby network, the launch of Micro ATMs will help us play a very critical role towards the twin objective of ‘digitising cash’ and ‘giving banking access to the underbanked’. This will also enable our retail partners to earn more income.

Besides rural India, our Micro ATMs are also ideal for urban areas where a majority of ATMs are not linked with Aadhaar or don’t have access to finger print. Furthermore, it will be useful in the country’s deep interiors and states like Assam and North East where Aadhaar number penetration / onboarding are still minimal resulting in lack of AEPS offerings.”

The Confederation of ATM industry (CATMi) has announced its plans to shut down nearly 50 per cent ATMs due to high maintenance cost of software and equipment upgrades. PayNearby empowers retailers at the first mile to offer digital financial/non-financial services to last mile, across its merchant points and aims to reach 50,00,000 retailers in near future. The company is currently the leader in Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) with 33% market share.

PayNearby has collaborated with TRRAIN Circle to provide digital upskilling tools to retailers through TRRAIN Circle’s exclusive mobile-friendly content to arm retail workers with the essential skills to lead a more rewarding life. As India’s leading hyperlocal FinTech network, PayNearby aims to digitally upskill over 20 lakh retailers spread across the length and breadth of the country by joining hands with TRRAIN Circle (Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India), an enterprise that aims at improving the life of retail employees.

Despite the growth in digitalization, India is still struggling with stunted growth in financial inclusion, majorly due to the lack of financial and technological literacy among the masses. PayNearby has been working relentlessly towards its mission of ‘Har Dukaan Digital Pradhan’ since inception to bridge the massive digital and financial gap in India. The company has succeeded in leveraging the ‘Digital Pradhans’ to provide many essential services such as Aadhaar banking, domestic money transfer, insurance, access to government schemes, and many more to the masses. Collaborating with TRRAIN Circle is another milestone in the journey, as it will ensure that retailers at the first mile upskill themselves and are able to deliver the financial products seamlessly to the customers at the last mile. The partnership will enable e-learning videos along with a slew of skilling and knowledge-building courses including financial and insurance planning and career guidance to the PayNearby retailers. Additionally, the platform will also promote holistic well-being by hosting in-house counselling for the retailers. So, the next time someone walks into a retail store they can withdraw cash, transfer money and pay utility bills from a more aware and empowered retailer!

Commenting on the collaboration, Mr. Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder & CEO, PayNearby remarked, “Retailers are the very core of a business ecosystem and it is important for them to have all the necessary knowledge and skills to make their work easy and enhance customer engagement. A local retail shop in India is a community hub as well, which makes the store a great source to achieve widespread financial inclusion. Through this collaboration, we aim to empower our retailers further and help realize our vision of upskilling over 20 lakh retailers, helping them to become self-employed, financially independent and aware Digital Pradhans.”

Mr. B.S. Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN added, “PayNearby has a revolutionary business model which financially empowers retailers while contributing to the financial inclusion drive in India. We share a common aligned vision that aims to improve the professional & personal lives of people in the retail and related industries. We are excited to associate with PayNearby in this journey and hope to build a synergy towards upskilling and empowering the local-retail ecosystem in India.”

PayNearby’s widespread retailer network of ~7,50,000 Digital Pradhans are present across 16,722 PIN-codes. So, the next time someone walks into a retail store they can buy essentials, withdraw cash, transfer money and pay utility bills from a more aware and empowered retailer!

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This startup empowers the local kiranas, shops, retail stores & other merchants to offer digital financial and non-financial services to masses.

PayNearby is a fast-growing hyperlocal fintech startup that enables retailers at the first mile to offer digital financial and non-financial services to masses. Set up under the department of industrial policy & promotion’s Startup India (fintech category) programme, PayNearby has seen rapid growth in the three years since inception. “Today, more than 6,00,000 retailers use the PayNearby platform to service close to 5 crore Indians on a range of products and services. The success of the model lies not only in the 10 lakh-plus transactions that it clocks daily or the monthly GTV of Rs 4,000 crore-plus, but in the social reach of the platform across 16,700 pincodes in the country, helping uplift both the retail community and consumers in those areas, thereby helping access to the government’s DBT disbursements in an easy manner,” says Anand Kumar Bajaj, founder and CEO, PayNearby.

“One of our biggest differentiators in the market is our technology architecture that not only promises highest success ratio, but also ensures that it brings in the maximum efficiency in a retailer’s daily life,” says Bajaj. “The work done by PayNearby has enabled financial inclusion worth `775 crore through 35 lakh transactions in the month of June alone, to the citizens of the 115 aspirational districts, identified by Niti Aayog as the poorest districts of the country,” says Bajaj, who has held various positions at EY, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank, before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey.

“With 97% India remaining to be insured, 92% having not invested in mutual funds, 78% not having access to finance, the banking infrastructure is required to be leveraged and trust needs to be sachetised and provided to the common man at a place nearby. With this hypothesis, PayNearby was set up to provide the last mile access of basic financial services to India’s large underserviced population,” he informs.

The company’s mission to make ‘HarDukaan Digital Pradhan’ is envisaged to empower the local retailer and create a thriving ecosystem for the local community. PayNearby has successfully enabled Digital Pradhans to provide many essential services to their local communities, including Aadhaar banking, bank savings, insurance, access to government schemes and many more. Bajaj says, “This has not only helped the masses to avail financial services, but also helped our retailers stay relevant in today’s evolving economy of e-commerce and large format superstores.”

PayNearby aims to accomplish delivery of an annualised Rs 70,000 crore-plus worth of financial services in FY 2019-20. The company’s financial foundations are based on strong unit economics and creating a business that delivers value and positive economies to all its stakeholders. The startup is funded by Roha Group, the Tibrewala family owned billion-dollar conglomerate with interests in various sector.

The startup is well-positioned to move to version 2.0 with the launch of multiple new verticals and brands, including TravelNearby and InsureNearby. The foundation is laid for it to make all basic financial and non-financial services available to customers through its local retailer partners – the Digital Pradhan. It has applied for an NBFC licence and wants to meet the financial needs of the retailing community.

From 6,00,000 retailers as of now to 50,00,000 retailers in the very near future, PayNearby has set itself aggressive goals to ramp up and be the port of call for assisted hyperlocal services in the county. The startup also wants to foray into international markets and is evaluating Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and South Asia markets for future expansion.