Stable Money, a Bengaluru-based wealthtech startup, has raised $5 million in its first equity round. Matrix Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, including Titan Capital, Mar Shot Ventures, and prominent angel investors.
Snapdeal cofounders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, M2P Fintech cofounder Madhusudanan, and Swiggy cofounder Sriharsha Majety are the prominent angel investors who participated in the round.
“We are creating a platform for fixed-return investment options for Indians. We are starting with fixed deposits but will expand into corporate bonds, sovereign gold bonds (SGBs), and government bonds,” said Saurabh Jain, cofounder, Stable Money.
Jain previously served as the CEO of Navi Mutual Fund and Swiggy before that. His cofounder, Harish Reddy, worked for the brokerage firm Estee.
Even though many fintechs are building products for the equity markets and mutual funds, Jain believes India still understands fixed-return products. Given the lack of innovation in this sector, Jain wishes to concentrate exclusively on it.
Fixed deposits, SGBs, and other products are available from players such as Groww, Zerodha, and others, but only as part of a package with other wealthtech offerings. Jain plans to focus Stable Money only on fixed-return products.
Currently, the startup has formed partnerships with a few banks and NBFCs. It offers fixed deposits on behalf of these financial institutions through its app. By the end of the current fiscal year, the goal is to integrate with 25 banks.
“Currently, we are relying on the commissions that we get from our banking partners for sourcing customers; eventually, we will start getting better margins as we get larger volumes of customers,” Jain added.
Unlike a traditional banking app, Jain states that Stable Money allows customers to compare FD rates across institutions. They can invest and withdraw money digitally. They can also open FDs without opening a bank account with these lenders.
“You can create an FD for as low as Rs 1,000, which is a unique feature on Stable Money,” he said.
While the company will have to source customers from the open market through digital channels, Jain wants to focus on organic traffic through social media and groups of investment enthusiasts in the first few months.
