Peak XV-Backed Scapia Spent Over INR 4 To Earn Every Rupee In FY25

Travel solutions-focussed fintech startup Scapia managed to trim its FY25 net loss by 6% to INR 83 Cr from INR 87.9 Cr loss incurred in the previous fiscal.  

The bottom line improvement came on the back of a robust uptick in its revenue for the fiscal. Operating revenue zoomed 71% to INR 28.7 Cr from INR 16.8 Cr in FY24. Including other income of INR 11.6 Cr, the startup’s total income for the period stood at INR 40.4 Cr. 

Founded in 2022 by Anil Goteti, Scapia offers co-branded travel credit cards with Federal Bank as well as a travel booking platform for flights, hotels and transport.

The card offers zero foreign currency markup (zero forex) on international transactions. This eliminates the standard 2-3% fee typically charged by banks on overseas spending, providing significant savings for cardholders traveling abroad.

The startup has taken the zero forex mark to ensure more customer retention as it bids to crack the travel finance market. As a result, it is willingly letting go of some part of its revenue.

“We’re willing to give up revenue on markup because we see it as an overall P&L decision, where we want to pass value back to the customer and then build revenue through travel bookings and other services,” Goteti had told Inc42 earlier this year.

Earlier this year, Scapia had raised $40 Mn (around INR 342 Cr) in a Series B round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from existing investors Elevation Capital, Z47 and Binny Bansal’s 3STATE Capital. 

The fundraise came shortly after the startup resumed issuing its co-branded credit card following a year-long pause amid regulatory and customer issues. The fresh capital was to be used to scale the team, strengthen product offerings and integrate AI across its platform.

Most recently, OneCard was suspended from issuing co-branded credit cards by RBI earlier this month. 

Breaking Down Its Major Expenses

Scapia’s total expenditure rose 10% to INR 123.4 Cr in the year under review from INR 112.1 Cr in the year ago period. 

Employee Benefit Expenses: Scapia’s employee benefit expenses jumped 73%to INR 61.3 Cr from INR 35.5 Cr in FY24. 

Advertising Expenses: The startup’s advertising expenses for the period under review declined 36% to INR 31.6 Cr from INR 49.4 Cr in FY24. 

Lounge Service Expenses: Its expenses under this head increased 6% to INR 7.1 Cr from INR 6.7 Cr in the year ago period.