Ajay Kumar: Creating a new article

2023-09-05T16:44:05Z

Creating a new article

New page

{{Short description|Indian fintech company}}

{{Infobox company
| name = Sarvatra Technologies
| type = {{Unbulleted list|[[Privately held company]]|[[Company limited by shares]]}}
| ISIN = {{ISIN|sl=n|pl=y|INE190N01014}}
| industry = {{Unbulleted list|[[Fintech]]|[[Banking software]]}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|22 June 2000}}
| founder = [[Mandar Agashe]]
| hq_location_city = [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]]
| hq_location_country = [[India]]
| area_served = [[India]]
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list|Vallabh Bhanshali ([[Chairman]])|[[Mandar Agashe]] ([[Organizational founder|Founder]], [[managing director]], [[vice chairman]])|Sumeet Phadnis ([[Chief executive officer]])|[[Deepak Ghaisas]] ([[Director (business)|Director]])}}
| products = {{Unbulleted list|[[Mobile banking]] [[app]]|[[Automated teller machine|Micro ATM]]|[[Point of Sale|Merchant POS terminal]]|[[Aadhaar]] [[payment app]]|[[Cloud computing]]}}
| services = {{Unbulleted list|[[Electronic funds transfer|EFT]], [[Immediate Payment Service|IMPS]], [[Unified Payments Interface|UPI]] [[Switch statement|switching]]|[[Payment processing]]|[[Payment gateway]]|[[Platform as a service|PaaS]]|[[Software as a service|SaaS]]}}
| revenue = {{Unbulleted list|[[Indian rupee|IN₹]]700,000,000 (2018)}}
| equity = {{Unbulleted list|[[Indian rupee|IN₹]]144,462,416 (2022)}}
| num_employees = {{Unbulleted list|{{Increase}} 411 (2022)|300 (2021)}}
| website = {{URL|https://sarvatra.tech/}}
| footnotes =<ref name="ET profile">{{cite news |title=Sarvatra Technologies Private Limited Company Profile |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/company/sarvatra-technologies-private-limited/U72309PN2000PTC015028 |access-date=14 March 2023 |work=[[The Economic Times]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sarvatra Technologies Private Limited |url=https://www.zaubacorp.com/company/Sarvatra-Technologies-Private-Limited/U72309PN2000PTC015028 |url-access=subscription |website=Zauba Corp |access-date=5 March 2023 |date=11 August 2022}}</ref>
}}

'''Sarvatra Technologies Private Limited''' is an Indian [[fintech]] company, headquartered in [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]], that develops [[banking software]] and provides [[Platform as a service|PaaS (Platform as a Service)]], [[Software as a service|SaaS (Software as a Service)]], and [[cloud computing]] solutions to [[cooperative bank|cooperative]], [[Private-sector banks in India|private]], and [[Public sector banks in India|public sector banks]] in [[India]].

As of 2020, the company's PaaS model supported 600 banks in India, while the company's [[electronic funds transfer]] (EFT) [[Switch statement|switch]] had a 54% [[market share]] among [[application service provider]]s in India. The company had a 55% market share in providing [[banking software]] to [[Banking in India|banks in India]]. The company's switch was the recipient of a BFSI Innovation Tribe Award from ''[[The Economic Times]]'' in 2018, and a Best Banking Technology Award from the [[Internet and Mobile Association of India]] in 2019.

== History ==
The company was founded on 22 June 2000 by [[Mandar Agashe]] and is headquartered in [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]].<ref name="ET profile" /> The company initially worked in conjunction with Agashe's other [[financial technology]] companies, EBZ Online and Codito, developing [[banking software]] solutions.<ref>{{cite book |title=Company News and Notes |date=July 2000 |publisher=[[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Ministry of Commerce & Industry]] |page=46 |volume=37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XEO1QWVW9B8C |access-date=3 March 2023 |language=en |via=[[University of California, Berkeley]]}}</ref> After securing a loan worth ₹35 million from [[Dnyaneshwar Agashe|his father]]'s [[Suvarna Sahakari Bank]] in May 2002,<ref name="tcc">{{cite web |title=Sarvatra Technologies Private Limited |url=https://www.thecompanycheck.com/company/sarvatra-technologies-private-limited/U72309PN2000PTC015028 |url-access=subscription |website=The Company Check |access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref> the companies launched a [[point of sale]] (PoS) terminal called "Sarvatra" through the bank's 12 branches across Maharashtra in July 2003.<ref name="toi">{{cite news |title=New software boon for co-op. bank clients |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/New-software-boon-for-co-op-bank-clients/articleshow/94360.cms |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[The Times of India]] |agency=[[Times News Network|TNN]] |date=25 July 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pune co-op bank installs ebz Online's software |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/07/26/stories/2003072600861700.htm |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[Business Line]] |agency=[[The Hindu]] |date=26 July 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030909035153/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/07/26/stories/2003072600861700.htm |archive-date=9 September 2003 |location=[[Pune]]}}</ref> The name Sarvatra Technologies began being used officially by 2004.<ref name="bi" />

In May 2006, the company installed its inaugural "Anywhere Money" point of sale terminal in a bank in [[Ahmednagar]] as a [[proof of concept]] for the [[Government of Maharashtra]]. Then [[Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare|Union Minister of Agriculture]] [[Sharad Pawar]] inaugurated the project. The company's terminals received praise from politicians [[Shankarrao Gadakh]] and [[Hasan Mushrif]], with them encouraging local schools, farmers, artisans, and traders to make use of the system. The [[Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited]], as well as [[Sugarcane mill|sugarcane factories]] in the [[Parner taluka]] and those of the [[Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate]] implemented use of the terminals for their clients. By January 2008, in a report filed by [[C. Rangarajan]], the [[Reserve Bank of India]]'s governor at the time, [[Y. V. Reddy]] and economist [[Raghuram Rajan]], approved plans for the company to install their terminals in banks nationwide,<ref name="Pudhari">{{cite news |title='एनी व्हेअर मनी' योजना देशभर राबविण्याची शिफारस : गडाख |work=[[Pudhari]] |date=18 August 2008 |location=[[Nagar taluka|Nagar]] |language=mr |trans-title=Recommendation to implement 'Anywhere Money' scheme across the country: Gadakh}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='एनी व्हेअर मनी' योजना देशभर राबविण्याची शिफारस |work=[[Loksatta]] |trans-title='Anywhere Money' Scheme should be implemented nationwide |date=18 August 2008 |location=[[Nagar taluka|Nagar]] |language=mr}}</ref> becoming the sponsor model used by the [[National Payments Corporation of India]] for the [[National Financial Switch]].<ref name="csfi">{{cite report |title=Sarvatra Technologies Exceeds Growth Targets |date=18 July 2014 |publisher=[[Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation]] |location=[[Maharashtra]]}}</ref>

Earlier in 2007, Agashe, then serving as Sarvatra Technologies's [[managing director]], had merged the company's operations with EBZ Online and Codito,<ref name="bi">{{cite journal |title=A New High |journal=[[Business India]] |date=January 2004 |pages=69–70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qbBIAAAAYAAJ |access-date=9 October 2022 |publisher=A. H. Advani |via=[[University of Virginia]]}}</ref> while partnering with [[Larry Ellison]] and the [[Oracle Corporation]] to introduce banking software technology to rural India,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Madhavan |first1=Narayanan |title=Larry, Mandar jam for rural banking |work=[[The Hindustan Times]] |date=11 May 2007 |location=[[New Delhi]] |via=[[Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń]]}}</ref> having previously gained [[I-flex Solutions]] founder [[Deepak Ghaisas]] as a [[Director (business)|director]] on Sarvatra Technologies's [[board of directors]] in 2002.<ref>{{cite news |title=i-flex Solutions targets co-op banksnews |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=11 January 2002}}</ref><ref name="toi" />

In 2010, the company became the first [[application service provider]] to connect directly to the [[National Financial Switch]].<ref name="Moneycontrol">{{cite news |title=Here's how one company is helping small banks to ensure Digital Payment interoperability |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/heres-how-one-company-is-helping-small-banks-to-ensure-digital-payment-interoperability-3727461.html |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[Moneycontrol]] |date=29 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In July 2011, [[Member of Legislative Assembly|MLA]] [[Pandharpur Assembly constituency#Members of Legislative Assembly|Sudhakar Paricharak]] inaugurated the company's first instalment of its point of sale [[Automated teller machines|ATM]]s at a local bank in [[Pandharpur]].<ref>{{cite news |title=पंढरपूर अर्बन बँक बहुराष्ट्रीयप्रमाणे सेवा देणार |trans-title=Pandharpur Urban Bank will provide services like a multinational |work=[[Sakal]] |date=28 July 2011 |location=[[Pandharpur]] |language=mr}}</ref> By 2014, the company provided core banking services to 104 rural banks in India, and further launched [[credit card|credit]] and [[debit card]]s in partnership with [[RuPay]] that same year.<ref name="csfi" /> Between 2016 and 2018, the company had aided 450 rural cooperative banks across 26 [[States and union territories of India|Indian states and union territories]] to connect to the National Financial Switch.<ref name="TechHerald.in">{{cite news |last1=Maru |first1=Pankaj |title=Sarvatra Technologies brings 450th co-operative bank on National Financial Switch |url=https://techherald.in/news-analysis/sarvatra-technologies-brings-450th-co-operative-bank-on-national-financial-switch/ |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=TechHerald.in |date=17 August 2018 |location=[[New Delhi]]}}</ref>

By 2018, the company had a [[Gross merchandise volume|gross transaction value]] of ₹400 billion, and had the Enam Group, [[ICICI Bank]], [[Indian Overseas Bank]], and the Oracle Corporation as [[Shareholder|key shareholders]]. It also provided banking software to [[HDFC Bank]], ICICI Bank, [[Axis Bank]], and [[Yes Bank]],<ref name="TechHerald.in" /> and through ICICI Bank, to [[Google]] and [[WhatsApp]].<ref name="businessline" /> The company further managed 50% and 30% of the total transaction volume generated on the [[Unified Payments Interface]] (UPI) and the [[Immediate Payment Service]] (IMPS) platforms respectively.<ref name="Moneycontrol" /> That same year, the company's [[electronic funds transfer]] (EFT) switch was the recipient of a BFSI Innovation Tribe Award from ''[[The Economic Times]]''.<ref name="ET">{{cite web |title=The Economic Times BFSI Innovation Tribe 2018 – The 2nd Edition Economic Times Iconic Brands of India 2018 |url=https://et-edge.com/conferences/innotribe/2018/ |website=[[The Economic Times]] |access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref> In 2019, the switch further received a Best Banking Technology Award from the [[Internet and Mobile Association of India]], while the company was reported to have a 55% [[market share]] in providing [[banking software]] to [[Banking in India|banks in India]].<ref name="UNI">{{cite news |title=Sarvatra Technologies accredited as Best Banking Technology provider |url=http://www.uniindia.com/sarvatra-technologies-accredited-as-best-banking-technology-provider/business-economy/news/1478534.html |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[United News of India]] |date=25 January 2019 |location=[[Mumbai]]}}</ref> The company also issued cards under the [[Kisan Credit Card]] scheme.<ref>{{cite news |title="Sarvatra provided the entire infrastructure required for a bank to centralize its system" – By, Mr. Mandar Agashe , Sarvatra Technologies – leading Banking and Payments solutions provider |url=https://technuter.com/breaking-news/sarvatra-provided-the-entire-infrastructure-required-for-a-bank-to-centralize-its-system-by-mr-mandar-agashe-sarvatra-technologies-leading-banking-and-payments-solutions-provider.html |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=Technuter |date=19 February 2019}}</ref> Around this time, it was reported that the company sought funding in [[private equity]] for its micro ATMs.<ref name="businessline">{{cite news |title=IMPS platform Sarvatra Tech eyes $20 mn PE fund |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/imps-platform-sarvatra-tech-eyes-20-mn-pe-fund/article25647513.ece |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[Businessline]] |agency=[[Press Trust of India|PTI]] |date=2 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sangani |first1=Priyanka |title=Sarvatra Technologies seeks funding for microATM network |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/corporate/sarvatra-technologies-seeks-funding-for-microatm-network/articleshow/67533197.cms |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=15 January 2019}}</ref>

In March 2020, the company employed a [[work from home]] model in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], with Agashe announcing his plans to continue with the model after the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rebello |first1=Maleeva |title=Mandar Agashe says he'll consider making 50 per cent of his team work remotely post-lockdown |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/mandar-agashe-says-hell-consider-making-50-per-cent-of-his-team-work-remotely-post-lockdown/articleshow/74890632.cms?from=mdr |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=30 March 2020}}</ref> In April that same year, the company reported a three-fold rise in [[Aadhaar]]-enabled cash withdrawal in rural areas amid the [[COVID-19 lockdown in India]] across its UPI, IMPS, ATM, and PoS modes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sarvatra Tech logs over 3-fold jump in Aadhar-enabled transactions in rural India amid lockdown |url=https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/sarvatra-tech-logs-over-3-fold-jump-in-aadhar-enabled-transactions-in-rural-india-amid-lockdown/articleshow/75447461.cms |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[Business Insider]] |agency=[[Press Trust of India|PTI]] |date=29 April 2020 |location=[[New Delhi]]}}</ref> 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 to [[IDBI Bank]], [[Punjab National Bank]], [[Bank of Maharashtra]], [[Paytm Payments Bank]], [[Equitas Small Finance Bank]], and [[Jana Small Finance Bank]],<ref name="Express Computer">{{cite news |title=Sarvatra Technologies offers door-step cash delivery in rural India; witnesses 353% rise in Aadhaar withdrawals |url=https://www.expresscomputer.in/news/sarvatra-technologies-offers-door-step-cash-delivery-in-rural-india-witnesses-353-rise-in-aadhaar-withdrawals/54276/ |access-date=5 March 2023 |work=Express Computer |date=28 April 2020}}</ref> and further had [[Google Pay (payment method)|Google Pay]] as a client.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mohan |first1=Raghu |title=We help banks stay on the grid: Sarvatra Technologies' Mandar Agashe |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/we-help-banks-stay-on-the-grid-sarvatra-technologies-mandar-agashe-120050700085_1.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 March 2023 |work=[[Business Standard]] |date=7 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> In November 2020, it was reported that the company had established a sponsorship model with the [[Central Bank of India]] that would aid the company to build a digital payment infrastructure for small rural banks and [[credit unions]] towards India's under-banked rural population as per [[World Bank]] estimates.<ref name="pymnts">{{cite news |title=Indian FinTech Creates Inclusive Services For Rural Underbanked |url=https://www.pymnts.com/financial-inclusion-3/2020/indian-fintech-creates-inclusive-services-for-rural-underbanked/ |access-date=5 March 2023 |work=PYMNTS.com |date=2 November 2020}}</ref> By December of that year, the company had connected 50 urban cooperative banks to its UPI platform.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sarvatra on-boards 50 co-operative banks on UPI platform |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/sarvatra-on-boards-50-co-operative-banks-on-upi-platform/article33241916.ece |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=3 December 2020 |location=[[New Delhi]] |language=en}}</ref>

In 2023, the company announced its collaboration with ICICI Bank, [[IDFC First Bank]] and [[Pine Labs]] to provide payments support to foreign travellers to the [[2023 G20 New Delhi summit]] by issuing UPI enabled [[mobile payment]] wallets at [[Indira Gandhi International Airport]] in [[New Delhi]], [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport]] in [[Mumbai]], and [[Kempegowda International Airport]] in [[Bangalore]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sarvatra Tech enables ICICI Bank, IDFC Bank, Pine Labs to extend UPI for G20 travellers |url=https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/sarvatra-tech-enables-icici-bank-idfc-bank-pine-labs-to-extend-upi-for-g20-travellers-11677574555194.html |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=[[Livemint]] |date=28 February 2023 |location=[[New Delhi]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Monteiro |first1=Leandra |title=Sarvatra Technologies enables G20 travellers to use UPI |url=https://ibsintelligence.com/ibsi-news/sarvatra-technologies-enables-g20-travellers-to-use-upi/ |access-date=3 March 2023 |work=IBS Intelligence |date=28 February 2023}}</ref>

== Products and services ==
=== Sarvatra EFT Switch ===
In 2010, the company's [[ISO 8583]] standard [[electronic funds transfer]] (EFT) [[Switch statement|switch]], Sarvatra EFT Switch, became the first EFT switch from an [[application service provider]] to be granted permission from the [[National Payments Corporation of India]] to join the [[National Financial Switch]]. Prior to this, most [[Cooperative banking|cooperative banks in India]] did not have the infrastructure or financing to provide [[real-time gross settlement]] within the [[payment and settlement systems in India]]. This allowed the company to integrate rural and [[urban co-operative bank]]s across India to secure [[Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard]] [[ISO/IEC 27001]] standard infrastructure. The Sarvatra EFT Switch was thus offered to banks as a [[Platform as a Service]] (PaaS) product on the [[RuPay]], [[Bharat Bill Payment System|Bharat Bill Pay]], and [[Kisan Credit Card]] network.<ref name="Moneycontrol" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Sarvatra Tech helping co-op banks to catch up with digital revolution |url=https://www.thebridgechronicle.com/business/sarvatra-tech-helping-co-op-banks-catch-digital-revolution-23416 |access-date=6 March 2023 |work=The Bridge Chronicle |date=19 August 2018 |location=[[Pune]] |language=en}}</ref>

After recommendations from the National Payments Corporation of India, the Sarvatra EFT Switch was offered as a [[software as a service]] (SaaS) platform to various urban, small and [[District Co-operative Central Bank|district]] level cooperative banks in India. The switch's infrastructure enabled transactions on [[Automated teller machine|ATM]]s, [[point of sale]] (POS) and [[ecommerce platform]]s. By 2018, the Sarvatra EFT Switch was present in banks across [[States and union territories of India|23 Indian states and 3 union territories]], and managed 50% of the total national transactions generated on the [[Unified Payments Interface]] (UPI),<ref name="TechHerald.in" /> and 30% of the total national transactions generated on the [[Immediate Payment Service]] (IMPS) in India.<ref name="Moneycontrol" />

The Sarvatra EFT Switch was the recipient of a BFSI Innovation Tribe Award from ''[[The Economic Times]]'' in 2018,<ref name="ET" /> and a Best Banking Technology Award from the [[Internet and Mobile Association of India]] in 2019.<ref name="UNI" /> And by 2020, the switch had become a [[plug and play]] service offered to banks. During the [[COVID-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.<ref name="Express Computer" /><ref name="pymnts" />

== Growth ==
The company has reportedly raised [[US Dollar|US$]]19M in total funding over six [[funding round]]s, as of September 2021. Razorpay, Pine Labs, [[Stripe, Inc.|Stripe]], and [[BillDesk]] were listed as its [[Competition|competitors]].<ref name="tracxn" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+Funding history<ref name="tracxn">{{cite web |title=Sarvatra: Cloud-based software solutions for banks |url=https://tracxn.com/d/companies/sarvatra/__NOVBpWtqly_k6DsnR6sinJq9i1AcCk9KR_oNW-bt8cw |url-access=subscription |website=Tracxn.com |access-date=6 March 2023}}</ref>
!Date
!Funding type
!Money raised
!Lead investor
!Valuation
|-
|7 September 2011
|[[Series A]]
| —
|[[ICICI Bank]]
| —
|-
|28 June 2014
|[[Series A]]
|[[US Dollar|US$]]3.18M
|Vallabh Bhanshali
| —
|-
|2 September 2016
|[[Series A]]
|[[US Dollar|US$]]1.54M
|Brihans Natural Products
| —
|-
|22 September 2021
|[[Angel investment]]
|[[US Dollar|US$]]2.71M
|Vallabh Bhanshali
|[[US Dollar|US$]]22.6M
|}

== See also ==
* [[Banking in India]]
* [[Financial technology in India]]
* [[Banking software]]
* [[Payment gateway]]
* [[Payment service provider]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://sarvatra.tech/}}

{{Payment service providers}}
{{FinTech in India}}
{{Subject bar|d=|auto=0|portal1=India|portal2=Asia|portal3=Company|portal4=Business}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savatra Technologies}}

[[Category:Online payments]]
[[Category:Financial technology]]
[[Category:Merchant services]]
[[Category:Business software]]
[[Category:Payment service providers]]
[[Category:Mobile payments in India]]
[[Category:Indian brands]]
[[Category:Privately held companies]]
[[Category:Companies based in Pune]]
[[Category:Companies established in 2000]]
[[Category:Indian companies established in 2000]]
[[Category:Financial services companies established in 2000]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2000]]

Sarvatra Technologies - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Creating a new article