SUMMARY
YONO has taken a super app approach to drive up usage and transactions
SBI chairman said so far over INR 800 Cr has been invested in YONO
The platform claims to have disbursed loans worth INR 14K Cr
With its massive internet user base of over 600 Mn users, India offers the greatest testbed for fintech innovation in modern history as India’s varied banking landscape is still more cohesive than many other economies. Besides private players and startups, public sector banking institutions have also cashed in on the fintech boom. State Bank Of India-owned YONO has risen as a challenger to super fintech apps in the past year or two, and it may prove an example for other banking apps from traditional players
SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar has claimed that the focus on creating a super app has delivered results across the board. He said YONO has more than 100 partners and they all are growing.
Launched in 2017, YONO is a fintech platform which offers financial products such as investments, loans, credit card among others. YONO lets customers open SBI bank accounts and transfer funds as well as do cardless cash withdrawals at SBI ATMs. But it’s the other components that are driving usage, Kumar said.
For YONO platform, SBI has so far invested over INR 800 Cr. The chairman said that this investment is already seeing returns. “We have built a balance sheet of about INR 14,000 Cr personal loans, which is paying us back almost the entire cost of building the platform,” Kumar added.
Kumar claims that YONO is adding close to 70K new users every day. In the last 24 months, the platform has added over 20 Mn users, he said. Besides financial products, the platform has added travel bookings and ecommerce offerings. It offers lifestyle products and services across 14 categories such as booking and renting cabs, dining, entertainment, medical needs, travel and stay. The approach matches the app’s “You only need one” philosophy, which also gives it its name.
YONO offers its customers a window to Amazon and Flipkart, where users can select products on YONO and buy them through ecommerce platforms. This affiliate marketing not only delivers revenue, but also data.
“Today, I do a huge number of redirections to Amazon, IRCTC, Flipkart. I track this activity every day,” Kumar was quoted as saying by ET.
Talking about the competition, Kumar said YONO’s advantage is that it doesn’t need to look for customers. “SBI YONO already has customers.”
