A smart savings account offering up to 7 per cent interest on the account balance has been launched by Niyo in partnership with Equitas Small Finance Bank and Visa. The savings account can be opened on the NiyoX app. Interestingly, the highest interest rate provided on this savings account is more than the Fixed Deposit rates currently being offered by the State Bank of India (SBI).
The highest rate offered by SBI on an FD account is 5.40 per cent for a deposit of 5-10 years. For senior citizens, the rate for this tenor is 6.20 per cent. The interest rate on the SBI Savings Bank Deposit Account with a balance of up to Rs 1 lakh or above is just 2.70 per cent. In contrast, NiyoX is offering 3.5 per cent interest on the account balance up to Rs 1 lakh and 7 per cent on incremental amounts above 1 lakh.
Niyo X is a 2-in-1 power-packed account offering Savings and Wealth Management all in one App. It promises a state-of-the-art mobile banking solution for millennials. With the launch of this product in partnership with Equitas Small Finance Bank and Visa, the company aims to on-board 2 million customers by calendar year -end 2021.
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What millennials want
Niyo said in a statement that ahead of the launch, it conducted a nationwide survey among 8000 millennials residing in metro and non-metro cities to understand millennial’s banking needs post Covid-19 pandemic. The study revealed that 70 per cent of Indian millennials are now inclined towards digital banks, especially for convenient customer support.
As many as 55% of respondents said they would switch banks for rewards and offers and 45% would switch banks for better interest rates.
NiyoX features & Benefits
- 2 in 1 account: Savings Account + wealth account.
- Instant account opening: Instant Online paperless account opening. Account opening in less than 5 minutes.
- Zero account maintenance charges. It is Rs 10,000 balance account. But if customer doesn’t meet the average balance requirement no charges will be levied.
- Upto 7% interest rate: 3.5% upto Rs 1 lakh and 7% on incremental amounts above 1 lakh.
- Virtual Debit card: Instant virtual debit card (visa classic) moment after opening the account which can be used for online transactions.
- Physical Visa Platinum Debit card: Customers can order for a physical debit card after doing full KYC / biometric KYC . He will get an option to choose between 2 card designs – Morse code and Caricature. As an introductory offer these cards will come for free till June 2021.
- Wealth/investments: Zero commission mutual funds. Import MF portfolio by sharing the portfolio statement generated by CAS. Customers can see the entire portfolio in the Niyo app.
- Free Credit report from CRIF: Every customer will get a free credit report
- Safety/Security: Lock /unlock, set PIN via the app
- Mobile app features: Wave feature- hide balance by waving your hand above the screen; Great easy to use mobile app with features like ‘search any transaction’ and ‘categorise transactions’.
- Offers and Deals: Onboarding offers on account opening, Regular offers /deals and cashback
- Rewards: Equinox loyalty points can be earned by doing fund transfer, ecom/POS purchase etc.and can be redeemed against a catalogue of merchandise; Regular rewards from Niyo – scratch card for different activities
- Niyo is soon going to launch domestic and internationals stocks on the platform.
Commenting on NiyoX, the company’s co-founder and CEO Vinay Bagri said, “As India’s leading digital banking fintech startup, our primary focus is on easing and enhancing customer experience, and the launch of the Niyo X is a testament to our commitment to the digital transformation of the banking space. We are delighted to launch our most ambitious product through our strategic partnership with Equitas SFB where we will provide the best possible savings account combined with a best-in-class investment account, all tied together with Niyo’s usual thought-through and delightful user interface. We are confident that this will become the most sought-after banking product very soon.”
Vaibhav Joshi, Chief Digital Officer (CDO), Equitas Small Finance Bank said, “Neobanking is the next big thing in Banking. We are happy to partner with Niyo on this path breaking initiative. The need today is to create use case driven digital banking products and we aim to do just that with our Neobank & Fintech programs. We have developed an extensive API Banking suite that helps partners like Niyo develop a highly specialized and custom developed solution for its target audience. We are sure this program will break the shackles of the traditional banking mindset and establish a true Open Banking model.”
