The World Economic Forum (WEF) has selected FINO as a Technology Pioneer and one of the 25 most innovative start-ups globally. With over 38 million customers and expansion of 1.5 million customers per month, FINO continues to provide a business and banking technology platform to customers seeking easier access to banks and financial institutions, government agencies, and insurance companies. FINO promotes financial inclusion through its platform which allows mainstream financial and insurance institutions to reach un-banked populations at the base of the pyramid.
FINO joins a select group of 25 most innovative technology start-ups from around the world.
Mumbai, September 6, 2011: The World Economic Forum today announced the selection of FINO as a Technology Pioneer placing it in a select group of 25 most innovative start-ups from around the world. A new class of Technology Pioneers, these companies represent the latest generation of innovation and are poised to have a critical impact on how business and society work. The Technology Pioneers 2012 will be recognized for their work at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions (ANMC) in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, from 14 to 16 September 2011.
FINO is a business and banking technology platform combined with extensive services delivery channel. FINO represents bank-led model of financial inclusion for banks & financial institutions, government entities & insurance companies. FINO, in a short span of 5 years, has revolutionized the way banking is carried out in Indi. FINO has a customer base of over 38 million and it reaches out to additional 1.5 million customers per month. FINO does over 6 million transactions each month aggregating over Rs. 300 crore. FINO solutions are used by banks and governments for social security payments, remittance, micro-insurance, loans, etc. FINO has achieved these astounding results by addressing the requirements of the market in a comprehensive manner by anchoring around 4 key pillars Technology, Field Operations, Product Knowledge and Financial Literacy.
Mr. Manish Khera, CEO – FINO, while speaking about the recognition said, “Technology is playing and will continue to play a vital role where taking banking products and services to the customers at the base of the pyramid. We have developed the entire technology in-house which is having a meaningful impact on the lives of people. Out of India’s estimated 60 million BPL our technology solutions already reach out to over 30 million households. We are proud to be selected as Technology Pioneers. It is a true recognition of the efforts of our team and I would like to express gratitude to our technology team for this award-winning effort.”
FINO has developed a low cost technology in-house which is deployed for sourcing and servicing the customers and for monitoring the large distribution operations to ensure the integrity of the system and low risk for client Banks, insurance companies and governments. FINO’s business and technology model dove-tails with that of Banks to enable offering a complete bouquet of financial products and services to the unbanked and under-banked population. An extensive field operations network of over 20,000 Business Correspondents, with requisite knowledge of financial products, has been set-up to help clients reach a large number of micro transactional customers. Besides the more successful agent based model in India, FINO technology also supports branches, self-serve devices like ATMs and mobile banking. FINO
Technology offers opportunity to banks to reach out to a new segment unbanked and under-banked customers across range of products and channels at low cost and risk. FINO technology offers the advantages of single view of the customer and scale.
The contenders to ‘Technology Pioneers 2012′ are drawn from the fields of information technology and new media, energy and environment, and life sciences and health where they have illustrated the impact on the world. The contenders are nominated by Members, Constituents and Collaborators of the World Economic Forum, as well as by the larger public. A committee of over 50 global technology experts comprising of leading academics, journalists, technologists and venture capitalists evaluate all contenders and makes a recommendation to the World Economic Forum, which then takes the final decision
Olivier Schwab, Director, Head of Technology Pioneers, World Economic Forum, said, “One particular aspect to highlight this year is the large number of companies that are focusing on having a social impact, such as providing health or financial services to underserved populations, while revolutionizing the business paradigms in their industries. This year’s companies showcase the diversity in which innovative technology can be deployed to benefit business and society”.
About FINO:
FINO is a business and banking technology platform combined with extensive services delivery channel. FINO is the market leader in delivering products and services to first and last mile. With over 38 million customer base and a force of 20000 transaction points in 386 districts across 26 states, FINO, enables sourcing and servicing of micro transaction customers at their doorstep. FINO model is built to offer bouquet of products to clients and their customers at affordable prices across channels as compared to traditional infrastructure based delivery models.
The advantage of using FINO solutions are end to end technology and services bundled offering, enabling delivery at scale through secure transaction mechanisms to reinforce trust and enhance user experience. FINO caters to the industry needs across market segments by undertaking complete electronic payment platform projects.
FINO solutions are anchored around using biometric smart cart, hand-held devices to perform field operations and biometric authentication. FINO’s products and solutions enable opportunity for businesses to roll out multiple product strategy for consumption by micro-customers. Also FINO as a branchless banking consultant facilitates designing of financial products and delivery channels to bring more people under the ambit of financial inclusion to various international entities across nations.
FINO founded in year 2006, headquartered in Mumbai, India, has emerged as a leading inventor, innovator and implementer of integrated technology solutions for institutions like Banks, Microfinance Institutions, Government entities, Insurance companies to enable financial inclusion environment for the micro customers. FINO is owned by International and Indian private and public sector investors and is an institutional investor driven company.
Poised to bigger growth FINO’s work has been awarded and acknowledged on many national and international platforms like World Economic Forum, Financial Times award, Asia Insurance Review award and many others.
About World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers:
Since 2000, the World Economic Forum has recognized the work of young companies who hold the promise of significantly transforming the way business and society operate. More than 400 innovative companies from five continents have been selected as Technology Pioneers. Among them, approximately 60% are still independent and 20% have been acquired by industry leaders. Previous Technology Pioneers include Monitise (2006), Mozilla Corporation (2007), Nanosolar (2007), Gridpoint (2008), Mint.com (2009), BloomEnergy (2010), Takadu (2011) and NetQin (2011).
For further information, please contact:
FINO, Mumbai
Neha Gupta | 916777 9411 | nehag.gupta@fino.co.in