As Mr Saurav Gandhi talks about a recent study, “A recent study indicates that there are around 120 mn households (~45% of the total Indian households) that have yearly income between Rs 2-5 lacs. Most of these households are still not part of the formal credit economy as they do not have a credit score or they are new to credit.”
People tend to take debit cards much more than they take credit cards, especially in the middle-class economy. There are more than 50% of users in the US who use debit cards. However, credit cards can be beneficial too, let’s know more about it:
- Tell us more about your company Bueno Finance.
Bueno Finance is India’s first credit led neobank for the next billion users in India. Bueno Finance aims to improve the financial health of this segment and is working towards building the credit history of these customers. A recent study indicates that there are around 120 mn households (~45% of the total Indian households) that have yearly income between Rs 2-5 lacs. Most of these households are still not part of the formal credit economy as they do not have a credit score or they are new to credit. Bueno Finance acts as a bridge between customers and big Banks/NBFCs and aims towards access to formal credit for the next billion population of India. We are a one-stop solution for all the financial needs (banking, credit, insurance, savings etc) of the customer.
- Why did you chose to start this (specific) business?
Sandeep and I met in 2014 and fintech were very close to our hearts and that’s what we always discussed. We saw a huge gap in terms of blue-collar financing. With these workers had started to get money directly in banks and salaries were also increasing but the credit did not pick up the pace for this segment. Sandeep had seen this problem first hand during his interaction with Swiggy delivery executives in his role in Swiggy. On the other hand, I saw how a small credit is very powerful in terms of improving your creditworthiness and is super efficient in acquiring customers. This happened during my stint with Lazypay. We combined the problem and the solution and that is how Bueno Finance was born.
- How do you manage to stand better and unique in terms of competition?
Customer focus is the key to uniqueness and success.
- What/who was your inspiration behind Bueno Finance?
The nature of the problem and kind of the impact that can be created is the real inspiration behind Bueno Finance.
- After all this success, what do you struggle with now?
Customer education has been very critical in this segment. Establishing trust and brand are the key components of driving this business. Especially after multiple players who charge very high APRs, establishing trust has not been easy. It’s a continuously evolving process
- Who is your role model and why?
No one person is a role model. I appreciate whatever I feel makes sense to me
- Tell us about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career.
I believe starting the entrepreneurial journey has been a very significant and special part of my career so far.
- If you had one piece of advice to someone who is just starting with their business, what would it be?
Do something which you truly believe in. Don’t wait too long to start it.
