In the last few years, most financial services companies have set up focused business units around a digital-first approach. But building these platforms requires extensive front-end and back-end development, as well as creating various workflow tools and business process management tools. Most importantly, BFSI companies require middleware platforms for integrating internal and external micro-services. Whether it is for the validation of customer credentials or generation of an OTP or pulling data from multiple government platforms, it is a complex layer of criss-cross communication between multiple stakeholders. The entire system is non-standardised, inefficient, and costs a pretty penny.
This is where financial infrastructure technology company 1SilverBullet comes in. “The task we’ve set out to conquer is one that requires a very robust and highly scalable integration platform with configurable features and the highest grade of security.1SilverBullet also intends to use blockchain to manage the audit train logs for providing a high level of authenticity of the API calls and transactions done through the platform,” says Milan Ganatra, founder & CEO, 1SilverBullet.
In simple words, 1SilverBullet sets up a middleware platform, an API junction that will work with both publishers as well as consumers to standardise their integration points and host them on the 1SilverBullet platform. As of now, it has built a fully digitalised, cutting-edge B2B gateway for two verticals: investments and insurance. “We are live with investment products like insurance, portfolio management services (PMS) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIF). We have integrated with several insurance companies and are in the beta phase with multiple brokers/corporate agents,” says Ganatra.
Basically, the 1SilverBullet platform is an enterprise tech play and requires high-quality code development, testing, providing a user-friendly console for financial institutions to pick and choose integration APIs based on their use cases, and running a pilot within a sandbox environment. For some of the use cases where the industry doesn’t have a platform yet, 1SilverBullet may build a user-interface or SaaS layer and launch it as a sub-section of the overall 1SilverBullet platform (for instance, for PMS providers’ onboarding in the investment track).
Launched in March 2021, 1SilverBullet currently has over 40 PMS companies including Marcellus, Amicus, TATA, SageOne, White Oak as clients, and expects the number to cross 80 by the end of this month. “We will be launching the gateways for life insurance, health insurance and fixed deposit in the immediate future. In that regard, we will be on-boarding at least 14 life insurers and 10-12 health insurers as well as corporate fixed deposits on the platform, ” Ganatra says.
Besides 1SilverBullet, other companies in this niche segment building insurtech solutions include eBao, MetaMorphoSys, Nvest Solutions and Exegesis Infotech. Eventually, 1SilverBullet wants to introduce more products across travel, transport and other segments. It is looking at a topline of at least $200 mn in the next five years, and has set the target of becoming profitable from the third year onwards. The self-funded startup is looking to raise more funds in a seed round by the end of this quarter.