In Startup50 2016: For the wonderful traction it has displayed – over 1 million app download for its UDIO Wallet, building a partner network of 1 lakh agents for its UDIO cashpoints, and for processing over Rs. 100 crore with its API solutions.

Founders: Anish Williams (In Pic), Aditya Gupta, Sandeep Ghule, Anand Kapadia

Mumbai-based TranServ, a fintech venture, owns and operates ‘Udio’ suite of products that enable seamless payment solutions for consumers and merchants in both online and offline space.

This venture with a 180-strong team is backed by investors Nirvana Venture Advisors, Faering Capital, IDFC Mutual Funds and Micromax.

In April 2016, the company received funding to the tune of US $15 million in Series C funding round was led by IDFC SPICE Fund, a domestic venture capital fund managed by IDFC Asset Management Company and Micromax Informatics, a consumer electronics company along with existing investors Nirvana and Faering Capital India Evolving Fund.

Strengths

The company’s API solutions for partners process over Rs.100 crore per month, and Virtual Card has seen 200 per cent month-on-month growth in both transaction and volumes. Combining Android and IOS, it has crossed a million installs.

Through a combination of the Udio Wallet App, the API Solutions and other payment products, the transactions have grown at 300 per cent in the past year and the goal for this fiscal is to continue growing at between 300 to 500 per cent per annum while maintaining unit economics.

The company’s business model is built around enabling payments solutions for corporate partners, government institutions and retail customers in a cost-effective, secure and highly efficient environment. Build an end-to-end payments infrastructure to enable online payments, merchant payments, mobile-based push payments for consumers and merchants, device-based frictionless checkouts for online purchases, and P2P payments.

Introducing Innovations

Udio has facilitated payments services to the unbanked population as a part of several financial inclusions initiatives such as the Government Grants Disbursal programme and is looking to create a holistic end-to-end digital payments ecosystem through novel developments such as native phone integrations with Micromax and cash-to-digital remittance programmes. The vision is to make India a digitally-empowered, cashless economy.

Native payment experience: Udio has entered into a partnership with Visa and Micromax to develop a holistic, well-rounded payments ecosystem which incorporates digital/online channels as well as offline/physical channels, providing greater flexibility in seamless cross-channel payments.

Ubiquitous digital payments via prepaid cards: To expand Udio Wallet’s reach, it is accompanied by a Visa card powered by a partner bank that will allow users to experience ubiquitous payments across online as well as offline merchant establishments.

Cashless Economy: Udio has an extended network of agents (over 1 lakh) who use Udio solutions to help people remit cash and help in sending money across geographical boundaries. Users can load money directly into their Udio wallets by paying cash at their nearby remittance centre.These agent points are now being branded as Udio Cashpoints, where Udio Wallet users can go and deposit their cash and convert it into Udio balance that they can use via the Udio Wallet for online transactions or via the Udio Visa Card for offline transactions. Being targeted at the under-banked population that are cash centric, this solution helps to truly bring about digitization of payments beyond the metros and tier 1 cities. The company is also reaching out to smaller towns and cities via Udio Cashpoints to enable remittance and cash loading into Udio Wallets.

Through its Udio Wallet, it has also introduced Digital Meal Voucher programme to cater to the corporate expense management segment.