Travel fintech Niyo set for comeback after SBM India ban disrupted growth plans
Mint recently. Niyo launched visa applications and flight bookings on its platform earlier this week. The company plans to offer hotel bookings and experiences by the end of September, Bagri said.
The suite of new products along with those in the pipeline will help the company double its revenue next year, he said. Although Niyo competes with established entities EaseMyTrip, Ixigo and Atlys, Bagri is confident about boosting revenue by targeting its existing customers initially. “It will take another three months for the products to mature.
By December, whatever improvements we want to do in product and placement will be done. So, once that is done, we think our revenue will double," Bagri said, adding that he expects to enter FY26 with a profit, slightly readjusting its plan by a year. Niyo’s recently announced products and services come almost 20 months after the RBI's directive to SBM India stunted its prospects.
The central bank ordered SBM to stop all transactions under the liberalised remittance scheme in January 2023, citing certain material supervisory concerns observed at the bank. The scheme allows Indians to send foreign currency of up to $250,000 overseas for specified reasons per financial year. “It was almost a year of setbacks for us… This was a major concern at the time as 60,000 people were using our product on the day the crisis occurred… Developing a compliant product in the tightly regulated fintech space with another bank took about a year, so much of FY24 was spent on this endeavour," Bagri said.
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