Paytm has acquired Bengaluru-based smart-savings management startup Balance.Tech for an undisclosed amount. The 6-member Balance team will join Paytm’s product and design teams as part of the acquisition. The deal aims to enhance Paytm’s user/merchant interfaces.
“We have been building some amazing user experiences, and the ‘Balance.Tech’ team has great insights and track record in building such intelligent and elegantly designed products,” the Paytm blog said, while making the announcement.
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Madhur Deora, Chief Financial Officer and SVP, Paytm said, “We are excited to welcome Ankit, Abhishek and the Balance.Tech team to Paytm. They have created a fantastic product with real user engagement. As we constantly look to create customised and intuitive user experiences, the Balance.Tech team will be an invaluable part of this journey.”
Ankit Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder, Balance.Tech said, “Our team has been building automated products that make the saving experience relatable and delightful by helping users reach their goals in clever little ways. Our conversational personal savings assistant nudges users to build a saving habit, and give purpose to their money as they go about their busy lives. We look forward to bring in computational intelligence, unique design and proprietary algorithms with Balance to help Paytm users accomplish more with their money.”
Founded in 2016 by two IIT-Kanpur alumni, Ankit Kumar and Abhishek Malik, Balance Tech was an everyday personal finance app that built saving habits for its users. It invested users’ money in mutual funds, offering returns of up to 8.7% annually.
The startup has been backed by Rainmatter, a fintech fund and incubator, managed by stock-broking firm Zerodha, when the startup raised INR 1.5 crore (around $233,000) in May.
Paytm, India’s largest digital goods marketplace, is run by One97 Communications Ltd., an Indian mobile internet company. Founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the company operates digital payments and e-commerce businesses through separate entities. It boasts of raking in funds from companies like Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, China’s Alibaba Group, Sapphire Venture, Silicon Valley Bank, and multi-stage investment firm SAIF Partners.
One97 has also acquired Delhi-based mobile technology startup Cube26 Software Pvt. Ltd. in June. The company has been spreading its financial services business with the help of its unit Paytm Payments Bank Ltd, which also contains its digital wallet.
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Headquartered in New Delhi, One97 is more than 4,500 people strong with regional offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata with global presence in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia. One97 also invests in early stage mobile companies through the One97 Mobility Fund (OMF).
Paytm is also a leading payment solutions provider to e-commerce merchants, using its RBI approved semi-closed wallet. It can be accessed in ten Indian languages and provides online use-cases such as mobile recharges, utility bill payments, travel, movies, and event bookings, as well as in-store payments at grocery stores, fruits and vegetable shops, restaurants, parking, tolls, pharmacies, and educational institutions, with the Paytm QR code.
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