Outlook Money OLM December 2017 Issue | Page 61

of companies like EarlySalary, PayMeIndia among others offer instant loans to professionals for a short duration that helps people tide over the immediate cash crunch. Mahesh Shukla, co-founder and CEO of PayMeIndia, a fintech company, says that in the scenarios where salaries are delayed or people have run out of money, a salary advance comes in handy. Fintech companies are also seeing an opportunity because banks don’t cater to this need. A salary advance loan is a quick solution to help avoid the embarrassment of asking someone for money. It’s a new and hassle-free way to get your salary just when you need it, that too within minutes. “Banks would require you to have a strong CIBIL score to be able to borrow. Moreover, banks will provide you with personal loan schemes for around `3 lakh for a time period of 36 months rather than short- term loans like `20,000 for 10 days till the next salary day,” says Akshay Mehrotra, co- founder and CEO, EarlySalary.com, a fintech company, which focuses on providing salary advance options. What also makes this a strong business proposition is that employers are tying up with Fintech companies to offer salary advance options to their employees; an association that benefits all parties. Mehrotra claims to have associated with 150 companies for providing salary advance, “We have tie-ups with various companies including large IT companies like KPIT, and e-commerce companies like Flipkart to offer instant loans to employees. One of the most interesting tie-up includes the one with Enrich Salon as the hair stylists were never able to borrow with such ease from a regular financial institution.” If a company is associated with EarlySalary, the eligibility criterion is relaxed; there is no restriction for minimum salary of `20,000 per month or minimum three month’s salary credit. Employees of these companies get an edge over others as they can borrow large amount and pay-back in EMIs for specific problems like house deposits, medical emergencies, school fees payment, etc, along with reduced interest rates. One also gets options for interest free online shopping on EMIs. Employers on the other hand benefit by not having to worry about setting an internal process that extends salary advances around the clock. These fintech companies also free the employer from liability in case of non–payment. Elaborating on the merits of these tie-ups Shukla says: Photo: Soumik kar www.outlookmoney.com December 2017 Outlook Money 59