ftcash Gets Selected by Mastercard Start Path Program to Participate in Its Six-Month Virtual Mentorship Program

Further accentuating its position as one of India’s fastest growing financial technology start-ups, ftcash has been selected by Mastercard Start Path to participate in its annual six-month virtual mentorship program. A global effort to support later-stage fintech and tech start-ups who are shaping the future of commerce, Mastercard Start Path has played a pivotal role in shaping the successes of fintech organizations all over the world. ftcash is one of six start-ups from around the world who were selected to participate in the program’s latest wave.

Start Path was launched in early 2014 to provide operational support, commercial access, and strategic investment for start-ups across the globe building innovative solutions in financial services and commerce. The Start Path team works with start-ups using a tailored plan to deliver tangible value and help participating companies grow their businesses. The program enables startups to tap into to its global ecosystem of experts and help expand into new markets through relationships with Mastercard and its customers. Start-ups that are qualified for the program are rethinking banking, payments and commerce and have raised a significant seed or Series A round of investment. Since its launch, the team has engaged more than 130 start-ups from all over the world.

Speaking on the announcement, Sanjeev Chandak- co-founder and CEO, ftcash, said, “ftcash was established with the singular aim of facilitating swift and seamless financial transactions for Indian merchants over a digital medium, and to allow them convenient access to other financial products such as loans. Participating in the Mastercard Start Path program is a huge win for us. We look forward to receiving the knowledge and operational tools we need to further achieve our organizational goals, bolster our global client networks through the program and contribute considerably towards building a less-cash, digital-first India.”

“ftcash is transforming the way merchants and entrepreneurs can take out loans and get paid for their goods and services,” said Amy Neale, vice president, Mastercard Start Path. “By participating in Mastercard Start Path, ftcash will receive a unique mix of benefits designed to help it scale at an accelerated pace.”

Through its open architecture-based platform, ftcash aggregates all payment methods, including credit/debit cards, net banking, and mobile wallets, UPI, and PayPal for merchants to initiate digital payments in less than five minutes. Users do not need to own a smartphone or download any apps and can conveniently receive payments through a basic feature phone, which can then be transferred directly to their bank account. The company primarily serves micro-merchants, MSMEs, home-based entrepreneurs, mom-and-pop stores, and large corporate businesses with a merchant base. ftcash facilitates both payments and loans for merchants and allows them to repay loans directly through the platform. It also creates unique and proprietary transactional data, which can further be leveraged to provide institutional finance to these merchants.

Fintech Startup ftcash Raises Pre-Series A Funding from IvyCap Ventures and 500 Startups

Riding high on a rapid growth trajectory, ftcash, one of India’s fastest growing financial technology ventures, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a pre-Series A round from venture capital firms IvyCap Ventures and 500 Startups. The fintech start-up will utilize the newly-raised capital in developing products in the payment and loan categories, scaling annual transactions to INR 1,500 crores and disbursing loans to merchants upwards of INR 150 crores. In addition, ftcash will use the funds to drive its expansion plans and scale up operations in Mumbai, Surat, Jaipur and Pune. Maintaining a consistent growth rate of 30-40% month-on-month, ftcash, with its unique business model, has emerged as one of the most promising companies in the Indian fintech market.

ftcash aggregates all payment methods including credit/debit cards, net banking, various mobile wallets, UPI and PayPal to create an open architecture-based platform for merchants to initiate digital payments. The company primarily serves micro-merchants, MSMEs, home-based entrepreneurs, mom and pop stores and large corporates with a merchant base. ftcash facilitates both payments and loans for merchants and allows them to repay loans directly through the platform.

Commenting on the announcement, Sanjeev Chandak, Co-founder and CEO, ftcash, said, “Our business model finds its synergies in payments and loans together as a unified tool to serve and engage with small merchants. However, we have only just scratched the surface as far as capitalizing market opportunities is concerned. We are thankful to IvyCap Ventures and 500 Startups whose faith in our vision will take us a step closer to achieving our goals. Their support will enable us to further accelerate our business operations and set the stage for ftcash to establish itself as an undisputed leader in the high-growth fintech market.”

“Having invested in ftcash since its early stages, we have seen the company achieve remarkable growth in a very short time. The company’s one-of-a-kind business model along with the team’s vision has displayed immense potential, leading to this long-term relationship between our firm and ftcash,” said Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures.

Sheel Mohnot, Partner, 500 Startups commented, “The Indian start-up ecosystem is an exciting place for investors and VCs. ftcash has established itself as one of the most innovative companies today in the fintech sector. Through our association with the company, we aim to help the company unlock the vast market potential for its product, possibly on a global scale.”

An innovative fintech startup leveraging technology to bring about market disruption, ftcash is backed by PayPal and has previously won several awards and recognitions across the globe for its differentiated approach.