In a bid to expand its product offering to the millennials, Niyo, a digital banking fintech start-up, has acquired Goalwise, a mutual funds investment platform. The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly increased the demand for digital banking and related services. Niyo will use this opportunity to rapidly expand its user base through a great mobile app experience and innovative product suite that will now include wealth management products.
Niyo Co-founders Vinay Bagri (CEO) and Virender Bisht (CTO) have picked up majority stakes in the start-up, along with Niyo, in a cash-and-stock deal for an undisclosed amount. The Goalwise founding members will join Niyo’s leadership team and will be running Niyo Wealth as an independent vertical within Niyo.
Apart from the DIY zero per cent commission mutual fund product already live on Niyo Wealth platform, the company plans to launch international and domestic stocks, robo-advisory and auto-invest products in next few months.
Goalwise currently has over 60,000 users with ₹850 crore AUA (assets under advice). The company primarily caters to salaried millennials belonging to Tier 1 cities and a median income of Rs. 10 lakh.
Niyo became one of the first fintechs in India to launch a co-branded savings account in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank that combines the best of banking, forex and wealth management features in its 007 proposition – 0% commission on mutual funds, 0% forex mark-up on international spends and up to 7% interest on the savings account through a waitlist that was subscribed by around 100K people.
Niyo is among the fastest growing fintech start-ups in India with a customer base of 1.5 million and 6,000+ corporates. The company is backed by marquee investors such as Social+Capital, JS Capital and Prime Venture Partners, and has raised about $49 million in funding so far. Niyo has been ranked among Asia’s Top 50 soonicorns.
