Zeta Ropes in Industry Veteran Murali Nair from Visa as President for its Banking Business

Zeta, India’s fastest growing fintech company, today announced the appointment of Murali Nair as President for its banking business. Murali will come on board in December 2019. He joins Zeta from Visa India, where he was the Head of Client Relationship Management.

With over 26 years of experience in payments and digital products across India, Middle East and Africa, Murali brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Zeta. Before joining Visa, Murali was Senior Vice President, Market Development for Mastercard, South Asia. He was also the CEO for Pinpoint India, a global leader in Loyalty Marketing. During his career, Murali has also held senior positions at Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank.

Having started its journey in 2015 by revolutionizing the digital meal benefit market, Zeta today offers a full stack, cloud native, API first neo-banking platform including a digital core and a payment engine that enable legacy banks and new age fintech institutions to launch modern retail and corporate fintech products.

Bhavin Turakhia, Co-founder and CEO of Zeta said, “On behalf of the entire team of Zeta, I am proud to welcome Murali on board. Murali will be instrumental in our goal to establish Zeta as the de facto platform for the Banking and Fintech sector in India, providing new age customer experiences for debit cards, credit cards, current accounts and more.”

“I am excited to join Zeta’s Leadership team,'' added Murali. “Zeta’s platform will enable banks and fintechs to create and launch digital first financial products with support for mobile payments, various payment networks, NCMC and much more.”

An engineer from NIT, Tiruchirapalli and an MBA from IIM-Calcutta, Murali has a keen interest in learning. He is currently pursuing a Senior Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

Zeta® is in the business of providing a full stack, cloud native, API first neo-banking platform including a digital core and a payment engine for issuance of credit, debit and prepaid products that enable legacy banks and new age fintech institutions to launch modern retail and corporate fintech products. Co-founded by Bhavin Turakhia (CEO) and Ramki Gaddipati (CTO), Zeta currently provides its platform and products to BFSI issuers in India, Asia and LATAM. Zeta’s products are used by banks like RBL Bank, IDFC First Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, 14000 corporates and over 2 million users. Zeta is a SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 9008, PCI DSS certified company. Zeta has over 450 employees and clocks over 1 million transactions per day.

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Sodexo picks Minority Stake in Fintech Startup Zeta at $300Mn Valuation

Bangalore-based Fintech startup Zeta on Tuesday said Sodexo Benefits and Rewards (SBR) has picked up a minority stake in the company for an undisclosed amount. The investment was part of Zeta's Series-C funding round.

The transaction values the company at US$300 million, and the funds will be used for expanding business in the US, the UK, Europe and South East Asia, Zeta said in a statement.

Zeta, which started operations in 2015, has over 14,000 corporate clients and more than 1.9 million users using its employee benefits and corporate gifting platform. It has partnerships with organisations such as RBL Bank, IDFC First Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

"Today's banking and fintech ecosystem requires cloud-native, privacy-aware, inherently secure, API (application programme interface) first banking and payment solutions. With this new investment, we want to further our vision to accelerate to a world where payments are invisible and seamless," Zeta co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Bhavin Turakhia said.

He added that the company will expand its operations to over 15 countries in the next two years.

Co-founders Bhavin Turakhia and Ramki Gaddipati have till date invested USD 40 million, the company said. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to Zeta.

Last year in January, Zeta was the only entrant from the Asia Pacific region selected for Mastercard Start Path Global 2017 wave, a startup initiative from credit card giant Mastercard.

Sodexo has been a strategic partner of Zeta since 2017, SBR CEO Aurelien Sonet said.

"This investment will enable the Sodexo group to benefit from Zeta's seamless payment experience and offer a comprehensive suite of solutions to our consumers. Zeta and Sodexo are already working together on deploying Zeta's platform across several Sodexo subsidiaries across different regions," he added.

Operating in 72 countries, Sodexo serves 100 million consumers daily through its on-site services, benefits and rewards services etc. PTI SR

Fintech Player Zeta Introduces Deep Analytics To Automated Cafeteria Industry

Mumbai-based Zeta, a leading fintech player in the space of corporate employee benefits has expanded its automated cafeteria portfolio to offer advanced deep analytics - Express Insights.

The Insights feature is a first-of-its-kind solution in the automated cafeteria industry that will offer corporates and cafeteria vendors detailed analysis to enable better food management and enhance overall cafeteria experience.

Corporates using Zeta Express® can now access Express Insights to pull out information on employee purchase behaviour, vendor ratings and performance, settlement reports and even draw comparisons amongst various cafeterias across office locations for overall performance.

Insights also provides detailed analysis on employee preferences such as favourite food items, least selling items, thereby helping cafeteria vendors manage inventory better and control overall food wastage.

‘’Data Analytics today is the bedrock of any business. Most companies are now-a-days looking at real-time analytics for decision-making and Zeta Express® Insights will provide them with the required data for taking such decisions” said Ramki Gaddipati, Zeta co-founder & CTO. “With this solution companies can better manage their cafeteria inventory, get an insight into employees’ spend patterns, see live menu, check vendor performance and conduct feedback surveys to understand the needs of their employees regarding facilities and cafeteria’’, he added.

Zeta has also introduced desktop-enabled POS solution for vendors that is capable of accepting orders, payments and providing receipts - all in one device. The POS accepts payments via Zeta’s payment suite comprising Super ID, Super Tag and Zeta app. It can also accept payments via select third party apps.

Zeta Express® offers a complete suite of digital solutions to automate corporate cafeterias - right from order management to payment. Corporates can choose the solutions most apt for their unique set up from Zeta’s wide spectrum of options.

Zeta Express® has powered 250+ cafeterias across 110+ corporates in India including SBI Life, Tata Motors, BNP Paribas and Honeywell. The automated cafeteria solution has also been deployed in several educational institutions as well such as Oberoi International school, École Mondiale World School and IIM Lucknow. The youngest user of Zeta’s cafeteria solution are children of 6 years which says something about the simplicity of the product offering.

Zeta, co-founded by Bhavin Turakhia (CEO) and Ramki Gaddipati (CTO), is a leading fintech company on a mission to digitise employee benefits, cafeteria solutions, and rewards and recognition solutions. The startup was in news when it was the only Indian startup selected in Mastercard Global Incubator, in January this year.

Zeta started this journey by launching an innovative cloud-based enterprise benefits suite called Zeta Tax Benefits in January 2016. The tax benefits suite includes smart solutions such as digitised meal vouchers, fuel and communications card, medical reimbursements, gadget card, gift card and LTA card.

Zeta's offerings also include Zeta Express®, an innovative payment solution aimed at making corporate cafeterias cashless. The suite includes the Zeta Super Tag™, Zeta Express® Kiosk, Express Remote and Zeta Super ID. Zeta also offers a rewards & recognition programme, which is a one-stop gifting solution called Zeta Spotlight.

Zeta has over 400 employees spread over 11 Indian cities: Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Nashik, Baroda, Kochi, and Ahmedabad. Our corporate clientele includes over 1300 clients across industries ranging from large conglomerates to small start-ups.

Zeta was recognized as one of India’s most innovative product companies at NASSCOM Emerge 50 awards 2017. The brand was also named the Fintech Rising Star for 2017 at the India FinTech forum. Last June, Zeta picked up stake in ZingHR, a cloud services provider, for an undisclosed amount.

Speaking about cafeteria digitization, an another player in this segment is Bengaluru-based SmartQ that enables a digital cafeteria experience across different sectors including corporates, malls, multiplexes, stadiums, hospitals and colleges. The digital cafeteria platform of SmartQ includes mobile application, automated billing kiosks, centralised billing system, NFC prepaid cards, POS software etc. SmartQ has just raised close to $1 million in funding from a consortium of Dubai based investors. Prior to this it had raised funding in Series A round from YourNest Angel Fund, in May 2016.

Bengaluru-based HungerBox is another digital cafeteria solution startup which is currently serving 110+ digital cafeterias and have also recently raised $2.5 Mn in Series A funding round.

Fintech Player Zeta Introduces Deep Analytics To Automated Cafeteria Industry

Mumbai-based Zeta, a leading fintech player in the space of corporate employee benefits has expanded its automated cafeteria portfolio to offer advanced deep analytics - Express Insights.

The Insights feature is a first-of-its-kind solution in the automated cafeteria industry that will offer corporates and cafeteria vendors detailed analysis to enable better food management and enhance overall cafeteria experience.

Corporates using Zeta Express® can now access Express Insights to pull out information on employee purchase behaviour, vendor ratings and performance, settlement reports and even draw comparisons amongst various cafeterias across office locations for overall performance. 

Insights also provides detailed analysis on employee preferences such as favourite food items, least selling items, thereby helping cafeteria vendors manage inventory better and control overall food wastage.

‘’Data Analytics today is the bedrock of any business. Most companies are now-a-days looking at real-time analytics for decision-making and Zeta Express® Insights will provide them with the required data for taking such decisions” said Ramki Gaddipati, Zeta co-founder & CTO. “With this solution companies can better manage their cafeteria inventory, get an insight into employees’ spend patterns, see live menu, check vendor performance and conduct feedback surveys to understand the needs of their employees regarding facilities and cafeteria’’, he added.

Zeta has also introduced desktop-enabled POS solution for vendors that is capable of accepting orders, payments and providing receipts - all in one device. The POS accepts payments via Zeta’s payment suite comprising Super ID, Super Tag and Zeta app. It can also accept payments via select third party apps.

Zeta Express® offers a complete suite of digital solutions to automate corporate cafeterias - right from order management to payment. Corporates can choose the solutions most apt for their unique set up from Zeta’s wide spectrum of options.

Zeta Express® has powered 250+ cafeterias across 110+ corporates in India including SBI Life, Tata Motors, BNP Paribas and Honeywell. The automated cafeteria solution has also been deployed in several educational institutions as well such as Oberoi International school, École Mondiale World School and IIM Lucknow. The youngest user of Zeta’s cafeteria solution are children of 6 years which says something about the simplicity of the product offering.

Zeta, co-founded by Bhavin Turakhia (CEO) and Ramki Gaddipati (CTO), is a leading fintech company on a mission to digitise employee benefits, cafeteria solutions, and rewards and recognition solutions. The startup was in news when it was the only Indian startup selected in Mastercard Global Incubator, in January this year.

Zeta started this journey by launching an innovative cloud-based enterprise benefits suite called Zeta Tax Benefits in January 2016. The tax benefits suite includes smart solutions such as digitised meal vouchers, fuel and communications card, medical reimbursements, gadget card, gift card and LTA card.

Zeta's offerings also include Zeta Express®, an innovative payment solution aimed at making corporate cafeterias cashless. The suite includes the Zeta Super Tag™, Zeta Express® Kiosk, Express Remote and Zeta Super ID. Zeta also offers a rewards & recognition programme, which is a one-stop gifting solution called Zeta Spotlight.

Zeta has over 400 employees spread over 11 Indian cities: Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Nashik, Baroda, Kochi, and Ahmedabad. Our corporate clientele includes over 1300 clients across industries ranging from large conglomerates to small start-ups.

Zeta was recognized as one of India’s most innovative product companies at NASSCOM Emerge 50 awards 2017. The brand was also named the Fintech Rising Star for 2017 at the India FinTech forum. Last June, Zeta picked up stake in ZingHR, a cloud services provider, for an undisclosed amount.

Speaking about cafeteria digitization, an another player in this segment is Bengaluru-based SmartQ that enables a digital cafeteria experience across different sectors including corporates, malls, multiplexes, stadiums, hospitals and colleges. The digital cafeteria platform of SmartQ includes mobile application, automated billing kiosks, centralised billing system, NFC prepaid cards, POS software etc. SmartQ has just raised close to $1 million in funding from a consortium of Dubai based investors. Prior to this it had raised funding in Series A round from YourNest Angel Fund, in May 2016.

Bengaluru-based HungerBox is another digital cafeteria solution startup which is currently serving 110+ digital cafeterias and have also recently raised $2.5 Mn in Series A funding round.

Zeta Is The Only Indian startup Selected In Mastercard Global Incubator

As part of its commitment to building the future of commerce, Mastercard recently announced the group of companies selected to matriculate into the Mastercard Start Path Global 2017 wave. Out of the 11 startups selected, Zeta - the fintech startup to revolutionise employee tax benefits in India is the only entrant from the Asia Pacific region.

Co-founded by Bhavin Turakhia (CEO) and Ramki Gaddipati (CTO), Zeta has revolutionised the space of employee claims and reimbursements by launching an innovative cloud-based enterprise solution suite called Zeta OptimaTM. The product offering includes employee benefits such as reimbursements for medical, fuel, LTA, mobile, books and several other such company benefits - all accessible digitally for both corporations and employees. Zeta Optima™ is used by 1.5 million users across 12,000+ organizations in India. Zeta is a single platform which manages multiple benefits and the solution is compliant and customisable at the same time, making it a first-of-its-kind offering in the employee benefits space in India.

Start Path Global will provide Zeta and its fellow matriculants with operational support, commercial access and strategic investment. Launched in 2014, the program has seen much success around the world. The program has mentored approximately 1,600 startups per year and engages with more than 150 of them around the globe.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Porush Singh, Country Corporate Officer, India & Division President, South Asia, Mastercard said, “Over the past few years, India has witnessed a tremendous growth in its start-up ecosystem. To continue driving momentum, providing the right mentorship and operational support to these upcoming companies is mission critical. Start Path is one such initiative by Mastercard that exposes young professionals to international markets and provides an enriching global experience. I congratulate Zeta on being chosen for the Global Start Path Program.”

Commenting on their selection, Mr Ramki Gaddipati, CTO and Co-founder, Zeta said, “We are proud to be shortlisted for the Mastercard Start Path program. As pioneers in digital employee benefits, we are handling complex payment scenarios and bridging transaction data with enterprise policies and systems. Mastercard will be a great partner helping us participate in the global digital payment ecosystem. Start Path specifically gives us an opportunity to take our solutions to a range of Mastercard partners across the world.”

The other Start Path companies selected this year are:

• AID:Tech delivers digital entitlements transparently through blockchain technology and digital identity.


• b.well makes managing healthcare and insurance simple by unlocking insights on patients.


• Flutterwave is fostering digital payment acceptance and infrastructure for banks and businesses across Africa.


• Goodworld powers the world’s only technology for frictionless hashtag payments on social media.


• HYPR reduces the risk of data breaches by eliminating the need for a centralized credential store.


• Mobeewave enables smartphones to accept contactless payments without external hardware.


• Railsbank gives companies access to a global banking network through simple APIs.


• Sensibill’s platform turns everyday purchase receipts into a core part of the digital banking experience.


• ShieldPay‘s instant digital escrow facility enables everyone, everywhere to transact with each other in total confidence.


• Trunomi unlocks the power of customer data using data rights management.

These companies will work with Start Path against a tailored plan to help them scale. Applications for the six-month virtual program are accepted on a rolling basis. The program is open to startups who are rethinking banking, payments and commerce and have raised a significant seed or Series A round of investment. Interested startups can visit https://www.startpath.com/ for additional information and to submit an application.

About Mastercard Start Path

Mastercard Start Path is a global effort to support innovative startups developing the next generation of commerce solutions today. Start Path was launched in 2014 with an objective to help startups to grow their businesses faster than they could by themselves. Startups that join the program can benefit from the knowledge of a global network of Mastercard experts, access to Mastercard customers and partners, and the ability to innovate on top of Mastercard solutions. Mastercard customers that join the program as partners get connected to the best and brightest startups and gain access to innovations from across the globe.

Zeta Picks Up Stake in Cloud Services Provider ZingHR

Zeta, a fintech pioneer in digitised employee benefits solutions, has made a equity investment in ZingHR, a cloud services provider, for an undisclosed amount. ZingHR will also now offer its clients Zeta’s digital employee benefits solutions such as meal vouchers, paperless claims for medical, LTA, fuel, mobile and so on.

This investment will bolster equity infusion along with existing investors Triton . With funding from Zeta, ZingHR will now further expand its business and build its technology.

Commenting on the ZingHR investment, Bhavin Turakhia, CEO & Co-founder, Zeta said,“ZingHR is going through an interesting phase in the cloud-based market. Their growth journey has been quite impressive. Since Zeta’s inception, our product portfolio has grown exponentially and we’ve added 1000 corporate clients. We are excited about this phase as we see a lot synergies with ZingHR to further expand the reach of digitised solutions across the globe.”

On this occasion, Mr. Prasad Rajappan, Founder & CEO, ZingHR said,“We are thrilled about this strategic partnership. We believe that, with Zeta, we can achieve significant business transformations with cloud-based HR processes effectively. We are confident that together, we will empower businesses across geographies and acquire more customers.”

ZingHR is a key player in the global enterprise cloud applications space, providing end-to-end employee lifecycle management services. The company works on various cutting-edge technologies including machine learning in recruitment, embedded Power BI based HR analytics, geo-fencing, geo-tagging, and Aadhar-based digital onboarding. Some of ZingHR’s key clients include Svatantra Finance, DHL, Shree Ram Housing Finance and Sterling Resorts.

Zeta is a popular name in the space of digitised employee benefits in India, which recently reached a milestone of 1 Million transactions in the Indian market. Zeta boasts of an increasing clientele, presently comprising 1000 corporate clients and over 3.5 lakh users. Known for its flagship solution Zeta Optima suite of tax benefits, Zeta also offers Zeta Express cashless cafeteria solutions as well as the Zeta Spotlight rewards and recognition programme. Zeta users have the freedom to spend their benefits across 11 lakh+ outlets via the Zeta app, the Zeta Super Card, a Mastercard/ RuPay powered card or the NFC-enabled Zeta Super Tag. The company’s key objective is to help salaried professionals save beyond Rs 80k in taxes.