Bengaluru, 23 June: Bengaluru-based neobank Fi Money recently launched an initiative to help LGBTQ customers gain better access to financial services. While still at its initial stages, the initiative titled ‘The Ally Annexure’ aims to educate institutions towards being more accessible to queer customers’ financial needs. The initiative was launched in partnership with Pride Circle, a diversity and inclusion firm, and will be supported by Fi Money’s banking partner – Kochi-based Federal Bank.
Solving for financial inclusion
Members of the queer community highlighted branch visits and in-person interactions with institutional staff as the most commonly reported barrier in the accessibility of financial solutions. While the Indian constitution has decriminalised same-sex relationships, there exists no legal framework within which queer individuals can use financial services without judgement or discrimination.
A primary cause for this was found to be the lack of awareness, and a bias-ridden system across the world of financial services.
The Ally Annexure
As a first step towards this long-term goal, Fi Money created ‘The Ally Annexure’, a manual that helps staff self-educate themselves on the queer community, their needs, preferences, and the problems they face in their daily lives.
Speaking on the initiative, Sujith Narayanan, CEO of Fi Money said:
“We realized that there was a need to sensitize our workforce, especially those who are customer facing. The ally annexure is a step in that direction. The goal is to turn this document into a standardized guideline that banks and financial institutions can implement across the board. We have a digital version that can be downloaded on the website and shared with more folks in the industry.”
Fi Money was recently in the news for having launched multiple financial products through its neobanking app including mutual funds and Fi Jump, a peer-to-peer investment product. Fi currently has over a million users and is widely used by consumers across 19000 pincodes in India
The Ally Annexure and an overview of the initiative can be found at https://pride.fi.money/
About Fi
Fi.money is a neobank created for working professionals. Fi’s innovation lies in creating an interactive, personalized, and transparent financial platform that covers banking, investing and money management. The Fi app listens to your needs, understands your wants, and gently nudges you to achieve your money aspirations. Every aspect of Fi’s design minimizes friction for the digital-first generation. It’s a secure digital platform built in partnership with banks.
As an integrated financial services platform, Fi’s users gain access to a new-age Savings Account, an investment platform and money management tools with features that help users know their money, grow their money and organize their funds. Millennials and GenZs have a higher disposable income and a greater incentive to spend than save. The Fi app, therefore, takes on a one-of-a-kind approach, rewarding users for saving money and not just for spending.
Founded in 2019, the fintech company is funded by Sequoia India, Ribbit Capital and B Capital Group. Fi is the brainchild of ex-Googlers who pioneered GPay, Sujith Narayanan and Sumit Gwalani. Their team of experts – from Google, Netflix, PayPal, and others – distill decades of tech & banking wisdom into Fi. All of whom want to change the way people perceive and interact with their money forever.
