Until a few years ago, seeking credit (or) borrowing funds was a tedious task. The processes were elaborate and time-consuming, hence more secure as well. There were several checks and the financial institutions used to do thorough scrutiny of the applicants. Similarly, customers also had time to go through the terms and conditions of borrowing upfront as there was an element of human intervention – agents/employees of the financial institutions used to be the interface between FIs and customers. Enter the fintech era, we have a plethora of apps and platforms at the disposal of our fingertips ..read more

Before diving deep into how Go handles concurrency in an excellent way, let us understand what we mean by these terms. Concurrency, as per wiki, is the ability of different parts or units of a program, algorithm, or problem to be executed out of order, or in a partial order, without affecting the outcome. If the above definition doesn’t clarify things, we can try to understand it in a simple way. Concurrency is the ability to do multiple things at the same time within shared time slots. Parallelism, as per wiki,  refers to the techniques to make programs faster by performing several comp ..read more

It's been a fascinating couple of years for the global “BNPL” category with the meteoric rise in usage, followed by equally meteoric rises in valuations for some of the biggest brands in 2021. Followed sharply in 2022, by some of the biggest value “correction” in both public and private markets - just google Klarna and Affirm to see the volatile trajectory these firms have been on. India has seen its own interesting turn of events in 2022, with the recent announcement of the “Digital Lending Guidelines” by the Reserve Bank of India, specifically mentioning the BNPL product - and finally clari ..read more

Pets make great companions. But pet care may not always be easy financially especially when we don’t compromise when it comes to providing the best for our companions. Anu, a co-founder of an NGO, got to know about ZestMoney when she was purchasing something for her pet dog Rumi. What she immediately liked about ZestMoney was that the process was instant as it was completely digital, and, at the top of it, provided the option to pay in easy EMIs. “ZestMoney helped me take care of my beloved Rumi without affecting my monthly finances,” reveals Anu. She loved the experience so much that she now ..read more

If you thought the core concept behind the Equated Monthly installments (EMI) has roots in modern times, you are in for a story today. The practice of installment credit isn’t new. And by ‘isn’t new’ we mean that it is as old as civilization itself. There are certain reports that suggest that credit repayment in parts was even prevalent during the barter system times and earlier, albeit in a much different form, even before the concept of currency had come into existence. So, what’s the genesis of credit as a concept? If studies are to be believed, you’d be surprised to know that it dates bac ..read more

“Change is the only constant”. This is not just a statement but it is the way of life. I have learnt this the hard way. The perfectionist in me used to analyze the product requirements in detail and try to make a product very generic and future-extensible in every possible way. The problem with this approach was that not only the product requirements kept on changing but the business direction kept on changing as well based on macro conditions in the market. There are various factors that govern change like compliance guidelines, customer behavior, partner behavior, macroeconomic scenarios ..read more

If you don’t want to invest your money in one lump sum for whatever reason and you have a low risk appetite to boot, you can choose to invest in SIP: systematic investment plan. It’s basically just a way to invest your money in a regular and organized manner by investing a monthly sum, similar to how you would invest in a recurring deposit (RD) with your bank. The difference is that the money is invested in mutual funds instead of being sent into an RD and, as such, your investment is market-linked. Investing in a SIP requires discipline and systematic approach, which is good for new investor ..read more

As a woman working in the field of data science and artificial intelligence (AI), I’d like to, first of all, acknowledge the essence and power of women to achieve and thrive in the global ecosystem. That said, one thing I’d like to reflect on is the role of AI in accelerating the gender gap closure, and in giving all females equal opportunities. Artificial intelligence is still in its nascent stage, but it continues to affect our daily lives in several different ways -- job recruitment, approval of bank loans, search engines, and criminal sentencing to name a few. While AI governs a relativel ..read more

Digital transactions have surged exponentially in the past few years. But this revolution has also led to increasing cases of financial fraud. The first two years of the pandemic have seen the most cases of cyber financial fraud for two reasons: (i) the number of online transactions shot up dramatically and (ii) cybercriminals worked overtime to take advantage of the unprecedented situation imposed by COVID-19 and the not-so-digitally-savvy customers. Although the number of frauds registered and reported has started coming down with all regulatory and enforcement authorities taking up awarene ..read more

Equity mutual funds are, to this day, seen as a ‘risky investment’, which is why many people choose not to invest in them their entire lives. If you have a low-risk appetite, that may even be a good decision, but that’s not the point. Every investment involves risk to some extent and there are many factors that make an investment more or less risky. Since mutual funds invest in a number of different securities, each mutual fund portfolio’s risk level is dependent on the securities that have been invested in. As mutual funds are market-linked, as the market fluctuates one way or the other, the ..read more