SBM Bank India plans challenger for emerging affluent market
SBM Bank India, a subsidiary of State Bank of Mauritius, is planning the launch of a neobank in the country.
The bank is partnering up with payment fintech PayNearby to release a recurring deposit platform called Nivesh.
Neeraj Sinha, head of retail banking at SBM, told the Hindu Business Line that it wants to build a “fintech with a banking licence”.
SBM plans to target affluent and emerging affluent users in India. It is focusing on those demographics and has no plans to branch out to “super affluent” customers.
SBM Bank India was the first foreign bank to obtain a wholly owned subsidiary licence in India.
Its parent bank has invested more than $67 million into switching its Indian branches from trade finance into a full-service bank.
SBM India operates six branches and claims 8,000 customers.
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