Have you ever heard about an employer who is paying a fraction of salary before the month ends? Obviously, your answer will be no. In India, we don’t have any such system where employees can request seven days or 10 days’ salary if they need it.
But now it is possible to withdraw a fraction of your salary due to the efforts of Refyne, a startup founded last year. Refyne, a real-time wage access solution startup, is providing salary access to the employees before month-end. The startup’s unique idea has attracted plenty of clients as well as investors. On Wednesday, Refyne revealed that it has raised $20.1 million in two different funding rounds.
Refyne Raises $20.1 Million Strengthen its Operations
Founded in 2020, Refyne has created a buzz with its business model very soon. It provides real-time access to the wages earned by employees instead of waiting for month-end. The startup has already started its operations in India and also received few clients including Cafe Coffee Day, Hira Group, etc.
To establish itself further, Refyne has concluded Seed and Series A funding rounds to raise $20.1 million. In a recently concluded Series A round, the startup raised $16 million whereas it received $4.1 million in seed round closed in December 2020, as per Refyne official statement.
Partners of DST Global and RTP Global participated as an investor in Series A round. While Jigsaw VC and QED Investors and XYZ Capital actively invested in seed and Series A financing round both.
Refyne plans to invest the raised capital in expanding its technological environment by hiring more staff. Growth acceleration is another area where the startup is planning to incest the current funding. By the end of the current financial year, the startup aims to serve 1 million workers in India.
How Refyne Works?
Currently, suppose you are an employee in XYZ organization and are facing a money shortage in mid-month, you can’t access your earned salary until the month is over. In such cases, you may take a loan from financial firms and it will create an extra burden on you.
What if we have a system where you can get a fraction of your already earned salary without waiting for month-end. Interesting, isn’t it? This is what Refyne is trying to achieve with the help of employees and employers.
Refyne works with employers to let their workers access their earned salaries in real-time. An employee can check Refyne and see how much they have earned in a week and withdraw a fraction of it anytime they wish. Refyne concept is applicable for small and large business organizations.
Talking about the startup idea with TechCrunch, Refyne’s co-founder and chief executive Chitresh Sharma said:
“An employee should have the option to access their earnings at any time.”
He further added:
“When faced with a mid-month liquidity crunch, the apparent options for employees to access quick cash include payday loans or micro-credit schemes. However, these instruments often carry predatory pricing, which further exacerbates employees’ debt obligations and mental wellness.”
The concept is not new. Business giants like Uber and McDonald’s have already implemented it in other countries but are yet to be tested in India.
One Indonesian startup is also working on the same concept to test it in the South Asian market and it has also received $5.6 million funding on Monday.
QED Investors managing partner and co-founder Nigel Morris who is one of the investors in Refyne looked positive about the new concept of the startup.
Talking about his firms’ investment and Refyne approach, Morris said:
“The need for financial inclusion is more important today than ever before. As the first company in India to provide earned wage access, Refyne can revolutionize the way millions of workers manage their money.”
He further added:
“By providing a real, affordable alternative to payday loans, Refyne will not only improve a person’s financial health, but it will add control for the consumer and dramatically reduce the stress on those who worry about meeting their financial obligations.”
The startup has received a positive response from Indian firms. Up to now, Refyne has welcomed 100 firms and over 300k employees. Rebel Foods, Cafe Coffee Day, Hira Group, and Chai Point are some of the clients of Refyne.
Refyne concept will be very beneficial for the low-grade employees who always face a cash crunch in mid of the month. Instead of lending money from other firms, they can easily utilize their hard-earned money on time. In the Covid pandemic, Refyne has come as a savior for employees who can face different emergencies at any time.
