Eko India Financial Services

Eko India Financial Services Private Limited, established in 2007 by brothers Abhishek and Abhinav Sinha, operates as a fintech company focused on enhancing financial inclusion for India's low and moderate-income populations. The founders, both alumni of BIT Mesra, identified a critical gap in the market: while the telecom industry operated 24/7, traditional banking services were limited, leaving a vast, unbanked population underserved. This realization, coupled with Abhishek's experience developing mobile commerce applications, sparked the creation of Eko. They launched the company with initial funding from family and friends, inspired by financial inclusion models like M-Pesa in Kenya.

The company's core business revolves around providing a platform for domestic money transfers, cash deposit and withdrawal services, bill payments, and micro-insurance. Eko's business model is a B2B2C framework, functioning as a business correspondent for major banks such as State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, and Yes Bank. It leverages a vast network of small retail shops, like local grocery and pharmacy stores, which act as customer service points. This strategy brings banking services directly to the neighborhoods of its target customers, who are primarily migrant workers and those operating within the cash economy. Revenue is generated through commissions on transactions processed through its network.

Eko's primary offering is a technology platform that enables these retail agents to facilitate financial transactions. Initially utilizing USSD technology, the platform has evolved to include web and app-based solutions. A key feature is its patented two-factor authentication technology, which allows for secure transactions without requiring software installation on the user's phone. In 2015, the company launched Eko Platform Services (EPS), opening its APIs to other businesses and developers. This strategic shift to a platform model allowed Eko to scale its agent network from 15,000 to 150,000 in three years and significantly increase revenue by enabling partners to build their own fintech products on Eko's infrastructure. The company has processed millions of transactions and served over 50 million customers.

Keywords: financial inclusion, domestic money transfer, mobile banking, fintech India, agent banking, rural banking, remittance services, B2B2C platform, API banking, payment gateway services, digital payments, unbanked population, micro-insurance, cash-to-digital, Aadhaar enabled payment system, utility bill payments, assisted commerce, low-income financial services, last-mile banking, business correspondent model