Niyo rolls out salary hikes, bonuses, ESOPs; total stock grants exceed Rs 100 crore

~ Digital banking fintech to double tech and product teams by March 2021 ~

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, 2020: In an effort to boost employee morale and support them during Covid-19, Niyo, India’s premier digital banking fintech, is offering 10-12% salary hikes, bonuses and ESOPs, taking the total stock grants to over Rs 100 crore for all eligible employees. The salary increment and bonuses will be credited to the employees’ accounts by the end of this month.

Niyo is also doubling the size of its tech and product teams by the end of March 2021. The development comes at a time when most fintech start-ups have laid off employees or cut salaries to reduce costs. Niyo has continued to invest in product development even during lockdown, which paid rich dividends in the form of quick business rebound and the successful launch of India’s first co-branded savings account. Niyo believes that Covid-19 will accelerate the digital adoption of financial services and that the present crisis offers a great opportunity to ride the digital wave.

Niyo Co-founder and CTO Virender Bisht said, “Being employees for the first 15 years of our careers, my co-founder Vinay Bagri and I can relate to what our employees are going through and what their expectations are. Rewarding our employees for their patience and hard work is our humble way of supporting them in these challenging times and showing them that we care. We strongly believe that if employees have a feeling of ownership, they can make a significant contribution to our vision of providing great customer value and experience. While the last four months have been difficult for us, all our teams have been putting in their best efforts to contribute to Niyo’s continued success and realising its long-term vision.”

Niyo has also rolled out several initiatives to ensure the physical and mental well-being of its employees. The company recently hosted Home-a-thon, a unique virtual hackathon event, to encourage employees to make the most of the lockdown and focus on innovations in product, design and technology. Niyo also offered its employees, numbering over 700, the option to return to their native places and work from home until September 30, 2020.

Niyo also utilised the lockdown to bolster its product suite through M&A. The company recently announced the acquisition of Goalwise, a new-age mutual funds platform, to launch a vertical under the brand name ‘Niyo Wealth’, which would be headed by the founders of Goalwise. Niyo Wealth will offer robo advisory, auto investments, and domestic and international stocks by the end of September.

Niyo has also been playing a significant role in increasing branchless banking culture during the pandemic. Niyo was one of the first fintechs in India to launch a co-branded savings account in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank, combining the best of banking, forex and wealth management features in its 007 proposition – 0% commission on mutual funds, 0% forex mark-up on international spends and up to 7% interest on savings account through a waitlist that was subscribed by around 100K people.

Niyo is among the fastest growing fintech start-ups in India with a customer base of 1.5 million and 6,000+ corporates. The company is backed by marquee investors such as Social+Capital, JS Capital and Prime Venture Partners, and has raised about $49 million in funding so far. Niyo has been ranked among Asia’s Top 50 soonicorns.

About Niyo: Niyo is a fintech startup conceptualized in 2015. It offers co-branded products in partnership with leading banks in India. Its products include a Payroll card for blue collared employees, Global card for international travellers and a Savings account for millennial.

Niyo operates out of corporate offices in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi, and has sales presence in more than 20 states and union territories, currently serving a customer base of around 1.5Mn and an enterprise/SME base of over 6,000. It employs around 1000 people.