“Personal Finance Management Is Like Going To Gym”

On 6 July, 2022, Capital Float rebranded itself as axio, unifying its consumer finance products under a single umbrella. This was in sync with the company’s ambition to make credit a force for good in India’s growth story. The challenge of the rebranding exercise was to inform the company’s 6 million credit customers and over 13 million Walnut app users without creating panic or compromising trust. The change needed to be seamlessly conveyed almost overnight, across systems, business functions and multiple communication touchpoints, including IVRs, SMSs, WhatsApp, email, corporate documentation, etc. This was especially important given the lack of traditional, large-scale marketing to convey the change in brand.

The success of the rebranding exercise is evident from the increase in axio’s customer base, with the company adding a million new customers during the festive season of Diwali and doubling its customer base by over 2x over the last FY. The company has now fully transformed into a consumer finance player, offering a unique mix of pay later, personal loans and personal finance management under one seamless brand experience.

The Growth Story

As a brand, axio has experienced significant growth in three distinct areas of the business, namely customer acquisition, partnerships and cross-sell. During the past one year, axio witnessed 2x increase in its customer acquisition rate, which went up from 100,000 customers per month to 250,000-300,000 customers per month. Axio has increased its partners by nearly 40 per cent and currently has nearly 4,000 partners. They added new brands such as Manipal Cigna General Insurance, Aditya Birla Health Insurance, Wakefit, LivPure, Toothsi, PhysicsWallah, etc. They are also providing a pre-eligibility check with brands in insurance, D2C, travel, healthtech and edtech, which will enable customers to determine their eligibility prior to making a purchase.

Axio also offers personal loans as a cross-sell product to its ‘pay later’ customers. This product is cross-sold based on various factors such as duration of customer engagement, repayment behaviour, pre-empting need, etc. Over the past year, the AUM for personal loans increased 5x and monthly disbursals value grew nearly 4x.

Responsible Financial Management

The founders believe that financial management is a big responsibility but it is like going to a gym. One needs to be disciplined enough to manage it. As a brand, axio takes financial management very seriously, being a responsible credit provider. The company wants to make sure the customers don't over leverage or don't take up credit beyond their means. This is done by understanding their income and spend patterns, what other loans they have taken, and then the algorithm basically determines the net disposable income a customer has and fixes the credit line as a function of that net disposable income.

The platform also ensures that the customers don't go overboard and spend beyond their means. It also gives the consumers extra time in certain cases, especially if they are going through a difficult phase financially, giving them the resources to help them bounce back and making sure that they are financially independent again.

The Names Behind Axio

Gaurav Hinduja co-founded axio (formerly Capital Float) in 2013. Under his direction, the company has grown to become India’s leading digital finance company. As the managing director of axio, he continues to drive leadership in the fintech space through numerous strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as Amazon, Makemytrip, Razorpay, etc. Hinduja has played a key part in axio’s evolution as the leading digital co-lending model in India. He was the COO of Gokaldas Exports and possesses immense experience in operations and complex supply chain management. Hinduja obtained an MBA degree from Stanford University after graduating from Christ University in Bangalore with a distinction in Commerce.

Sashank Rishyasringa is the Co-founder and Managing Director, axio. Under his direction, the company has pioneered technological innovations which have altered the digital lending landscape in the country. Prior to co-founding axio, Rishyasringa was a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he advised several Fortune 500 companies, national governments, and non-profits on business strategy, product innovation, and organisational design. He possesses an extensive understanding of the global fintech space and has prior experience in investments, financial inclusion and mobile technology from his time at McKinsey. An MBA from Stanford University, Rishyasringa graduated as Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University with specialisation in Economics and Finance.

The Awards

The company has received several awards like Entrepreneur India Digital Enabler Awards - Best Financial Tech 2023, Alden Global Awards - Innovative Startup 2022 (Personal Finance).