Chqbook, a neobank for small business owners like kiranas, merchants, chemists, and others running proprietorships, has launched a new mobile platform. With this launch, Chqbook aims to bring world-class financial services to a massive underserved segment.
Positioned as the ‘financial control center’ for India’s 60 million small business owners, Chqbook’s mobile app will place the power of managing day-to-day financial requirements as well as access to other financial products in their hands and on-demand, helping them save time, effort, and money as they grow their business.
These small business owners will be able to use the Chqbook current account for daily transactions, apply for short-term and long-term business loans, secure their business, life, and health while benefiting from its unique free bookkeeping service - Chqbook Khata; which manages suppliers and orders with ease, all in one place. Transactions across these services are powered by an industry-first rewards system specially designed for small business owners.
With the launch of its new Mobile App, Chqbook plans to scale to over 50 cities and expects to increase its customer base by 1 million during this financial year. The three-year-old start-up already services over 300,000 customers across the top 25 cities and onboards over 25,000 customers on its platform every month for various products and services catering to small business owners.
Through the mobile app, Chqbook has launched a new current account for small business owners which also rewards customers on daily current account transactions making it the first platform in the country. The current account is powered by ICICI Bank and offers customers a lifetime zero-balance account, anywhere banking and safety and security from India’s largest private sector bank. With secure biometric access, customers can easily transfer funds through IMPS, NEFT, and RTGS instantly and earn rewards on transfers as well.
Within the financial control center, Chqbook customers also get a free digital bookkeeping service - Chqbook Khata, which intuitively enables small businesses to record debits and credits from customers and suppliers alike. In a first of its kind, the small business owners can create and send orders to their suppliers through the app. It also has reminding and tracking features that enable business owners to collect payments by sending a payment link to their customers. It also claims to be the first platform to reward customers who want to move to a digital transaction platform for an age-old practice.
Chqbook customers can secure their shops, life, and health through innovative insurance products designed keeping the small business owner in mind. Apart from this, Chqbook also provides overdrafts to small businesses through pre-approved credit lines available within the app. Its two-step checkout process and intuitive TARA AI engine, claims to bring together the best of technology and research to give small businesses the control on their finances they always wanted, all, at zero fees.
Vipul Sharma, Founder & CEO, Chqbook said, "Small business owners are the lifeline for the local communities in which they operate and are responsible for lifting them up and providing employment at scale. Their success is an important cog in the government’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. At Chqbook, we are trying to empower India’s 60 million small business owners who are financially underserved and helping them realize their goals. Chqbook’s mobile app brings together all the financial transactions a small business owner must handle, now available on-demand and at their fingertips. Our ‘financial control center’ aggregates a simple to use the current account, traditional khata transactions, lending, and insurance. It brings all daily transactions in one place making them easy to access, so that small business owners can focus on what they do best — running and growing their businesses.”
“The business of banking is changing rapidly with the emergence of neobanks whose lean business models and personalized customer experience backed by superior technology is fast becoming the chosen platform. As we have discovered during the pandemic, small businesses are the backbone of the Indian economy. Chqbook’s new mobile-first digital financial platform brings them into the formal economy enabling access to affordable credit, build operational efficiencies, and plug into global supply chain opportunities. Chqbook’s mission to help India’s small business owners succeed and thrive is essential if we are to build a more inclusive digital economy”, said Sushma Kaushik, Aavishkaar Capital.