India has been one of the best recipients in the world for more than a decade. Inward transfers have risen from $ 55.6 billion in 2010-11 to $ 118.7 billion in 2023-24, according to data from The Central Bank of the Land. The banking projects that figure will reach $ 160 billion in 2029.
This means that there is an increasing market for digitized banking experiences for non-resident Indians (NRIs), ranging from transfers to investing in different assets at home.
Aspora (formerly Vance) tries to build a vertical financial experience for the Indian diaspora by keeping the center. Although many financial products are in its future route map, the company is currently largely focusing on transfers.
“Although there are several financial products for non-resident Indians, they know nothing about it because there is no digital journey for them. They may use the same bank app as residents, making it harder for them to discover products aimed at them,” Garg said.
In the past year, the company has grown the volume of transfers by 6x – from $ 400 million to $ 2 billion in annually processed volume.
With this growth, the company has drawn a lot of investor interest. Last December it collected $ 35 million in series A financing – which was previously not reported – led by Sequoia with the participation of Greylock, Y Combinator, Hummingbird Ventures and Global Founders Capital. De Ronde has linked the rating of the company to $ 150 million. In the four months thereafter, the company tripled its transaction volume, so that investors use more money.
The company today announced that it collected $ 50 million in series B financing, co-conducted by Sequoia and Greylock, with Hummingbird, Quantum Light Ventures and Y Combinator who also contribute to the round. The startup said this round appreciates the company on $ 500 million. The startup has so far collected more than $ 99 million in financing.
After running Pipe.com for India, the company started offering transfers for NRIS in the UK in 2023 and has expanded its presence in other markets, including Europe and the United Arab Emirates. It charges a fixed amount for money transfer and offers a competitive rate. Now it also enables customers to invest in investment funds in India. The startup marks its exchange rates such as “Google Rate”, because customers often look for currency senior rates, although they may not reflect live rates.
The startup will also be launched in the US, one of the biggest transfers to India, next month. Moreover, it is planning to open the store in Canada, Singapore and Australia by the fourth quarter of this year.
Garg, who grew up in the VAE, said that oversagings are just the beginning and that the company wants to build up more financial tools for NRIs.
“We want to use transfers as a wedge and building all financial solutions that the Diaspora needs, including banking, investing, insurance, loans in the home country and products that help them take care of their parents,” he said Techcrunch.
He added that a large part of the money that NRIs sends home is for creating wealth instead of family maintenance. The startup said that 80% of his users send money to their own accounts.
In the coming months, the company will launch a few products to offer more services. This month it is planning to launch an invoice payment platform to have users pay for services such as rent and utilities. Next month it is planning to launch fixed deposits for non-resident Indians with which they can park money in foreign currency. By the end of the year, it is planning to launch a full-stack bank account for NRIs that usually lasts days before users are opened. Although these accounts can help the Diaspora to maintain their tax status in India, many people use the account of a family member because of the cumbersome process and Aspora wants to simplify this.
Apart from banking, the company is also planning to launch a product that would help NRIS to take care of their parents at home by providing regular medical checks, coverage for emergency care and caretaker services for other help.
In addition to global competitors such as Remitly and Wijs, the company has also split rivals in India, such as in abundance, which were split off from Times Internet.
Luciana Lixandru from Sequoia is convinced that the implementation speed of Asora and verticalized solution will give it a lead.
“For me, the implementation speed is one of the most important indicators in the early days of the future success of a company,” she told Techcrunch during a phone call. “Asora is moving fast, but it is also very intentionally in building a walk through the corridor, which is very important in financial services.”
