| Company type | |
|---|---|
| ISIN | INE190N01014 |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 22 June 2000; 25 years ago (22 June 2000) |
| Founder | Mandar Agashe |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | India |
Key people | |
| Products | |
| Services | |
| Revenue |
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| Total equity |
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Number of employees |
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| Website | sarvatra |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
Sarvatra Technologies Private Limited is an Indianfintech company, headquartered inPune,Maharashtra, that provides banking software and cloud-based services to cooperative banks and smaller financial institutions. As of 2024, the company had a 55%market share in providingbanking software tobanks in India, with its PaaS model operating in 600 banks across India.
The company was founded on 22 June 2000 byMandar Agashe and is headquartered inPune,Maharashtra.[1] The company initially worked in conjunction with Agashe's otherfinancial technology companies, EBZ Online and Codito, developingbanking software solutions.[3] After securing a loan worth ₹35 million fromhis father'sSuvarna Sahakari Bank in May 2002,[4] the companies launched apoint of sale (PoS) terminal called "Sarvatra" through the bank's 12 branches across Maharashtra in July 2003.[5][6] The name Sarvatra Technologies began being used officially by 2004.[7]
In May 2006, the company installed its inaugural "Anywhere Money" point of sale terminal in a bank inAhmednagar as aproof of concept for theGovernment of Maharashtra. ThenUnion Minister of AgricultureSharad Pawar inaugurated the project. The company's terminals received praise from politiciansShankarrao Gadakh andHasan Mushrif, with them encouraging local schools, farmers, artisans, and traders to make use of the system. TheBharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, as well assugarcane factories in theParner taluka and those of theBrihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate implemented use of the terminals for their clients. By January 2008, in a report filed byC. Rangarajan, theReserve Bank of India's governor at the time,Y. V. Reddy and economistRaghuram Rajan, approved plans for the company to install their terminals in banks nationwide,[8][9] becoming the sponsor model used by theNational Payments Corporation of India for theNational Financial Switch.[10] The terminal was acclaimed by theNational Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and theDeutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit for being a low cost solution for core banking services.[11]
Earlier in 2007, Agashe, then serving as Sarvatra Technologies'smanaging director, had merged the company's operations with EBZ Online and Codito,[7] while partnering withLarry Ellison and theOracle Corporation to introduce banking software technology to rural India,[12] having previously gainedI-flex Solutions founderDeepak Ghaisas as adirector on Sarvatra Technologies'sboard of directors in 2002.[13][5]
In 2010, the company became the firstapplication service provider to connect directly to theNational Financial Switch.[14] In July 2011,MLASudhakar Paricharak inaugurated the company's first instalment of its point of saleATMs at a local bank inPandharpur.[15] By 2014, the company provided core banking services to 104 rural banks in India, and further launchedcredit anddebit cards in partnership withRuPay that same year.[10] Between 2016 and 2018, the company had aided 450 rural cooperative banks across 26Indian states and union territories to connect to the National Financial Switch.[16]
By 2018, the company had agross transaction value of ₹400 billion, and had the Enam Group,ICICI Bank,Indian Overseas Bank, and the Oracle Corporation askey shareholders. It also provided banking software toHDFC Bank, ICICI Bank,Axis Bank, andYes Bank,[16] and through ICICI Bank, toGoogle andWhatsApp.[17] The company further managed 50% and 30% of the total transaction volume generated on theUnified Payments Interface (UPI) and theImmediate Payment Service (IMPS) platforms respectively.[14] That same year, the company'selectronic funds transfer (EFT) switch was the recipient of a BFSI Innovation Tribe Award fromThe Economic Times.[18]
In 2019, the switch further received a Best Banking Technology Award from theInternet and Mobile Association of India, while the company was reported to have a 55%market share in providingbanking software tobanks in India.[19] The company also issued cards under theKisan Credit Card scheme.[20] Around this time, it was reported that the company sought funding inprivate equity for its micro ATMs.[17][21]
In March 2020, the company employed awork from home model in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic, with Agashe announcing his plans to continue with the model after the pandemic.[22] In April that same year, the company reported a three-fold rise inAadhaar-enabled cash withdrawal in rural areas amid theCOVID-19 lockdown in India across its UPI, IMPS, ATM, and PoS modes.[23] Around this time, the company also established a network of micro ATMs and ATM vans to populations affected by the pandemic in rural India. The company also provided banking support toIDBI Bank,Punjab National Bank, Bank of Maharashtra,Paytm Payments Bank,Equitas Small Finance Bank, andJana Small Finance Bank,[24] and further hadGoogle Pay as a client.[25]
In November 2020, it was reported that the company had established a sponsorship model with theCentral Bank of India that would aid the company to build a digital payment infrastructure for small rural banks andcredit unions towards India's under-banked rural population as perWorld Bank estimates.[26] By December of that year, the company had connected 50 urban cooperative banks to its UPI platform.[27]
In 2023, the company announced its collaboration with ICICI Bank,IDFC First Bank andPine Labs to provide payments support to foreign travellers to the2023 G20 New Delhi summit by issuing UPI enabledmobile payment wallets atIndira Gandhi International Airport inNew Delhi,Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport inMumbai, andKempegowda International Airport inBangalore.[28][29] By 2024, the company's PaaS product was installed in 600 banks across India.[30] In February 2024, the company announced arewards program app with British company Enigmatic Smile, withMS Dhoni as theirbrand ambassador.[31]
In 2010, the company'sISO 8583 standardelectronic funds transfer (EFT)switch, Sarvatra EFT Switch, became the first EFT switch from anapplication service provider to be granted permission from theNational Payments Corporation of India to join theNational Financial Switch. Prior to this, mostcooperative banks in India did not have the infrastructure or financing to providereal-time gross settlement within thepayment and settlement systems in India. This allowed the company to integrate rural andurban co-operative banks across India to securePayment Card Industry Data Security StandardISO/IEC 27001 standard infrastructure. The Sarvatra EFT Switch was thus offered to banks as aPlatform as a Service (PaaS) product on theRuPay,Bharat Bill Pay, andKisan Credit Card network.[14][32]
By 2020, the switch had become aplug and play service offered to banks. During theCOVID-19 pandemic, the switch's use in Sarvatra Technologies' micro ATMs and ATM vans aided the company's client banks to provide doorstep cash delivery services to under-banked rural areas of India that were cash-dominant economies.[24][26]
In February 2024, the company launched the Sarvatra Rewards App, apayment system linkedloyalty rewards program app, for the customers of its banks across27 Indian states and 3 union territories through the company'sUnified Payments Interface andRuPay credit and debit card network. The app was developed in partnership with Enigmatic Smile, aUnited Kingdom basedPayment Card Industry Data Security Standard certifiedfinancial services organization, through theirend user consolidating product Single.id. At an event inMumbai, formercaptain of theIndian national cricket team,M. S. Dhoni, was announced as the app'sbrand ambassador.[33][34]
The company has reportedly raisedUS$19M in total funding over sixfunding rounds, as of September 2021. Razorpay, Pine Labs,Stripe, andBillDesk were listed as itscompetitors.[35]
| Date | Funding type | Money raised | Lead investor | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2011 | Series A | — | ICICI Bank | — |
| 28 June 2014 | Series A | US$3.18M | Vallabh Bhanshali | — |
| 2 September 2016 | Series A | US$1.54M | Brihans Natural Products | — |
| 22 September 2021 | Angel investment | US$2.71M | Vallabh Bhanshali | US$22.6M |
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