SAVE NOW PAY LATER: A New Business Model In Fintech That Is Grabbing Eyeballs

SNBL BUILDS ON THE EXISTING TENDENCY OF INDIANS TO SAVE FOR THEIR PURCHASES INSTEAD OF USING CREDIT

- S SHANTHI

A nascent trend globally, Save Now, Buy Later, or SNBL business model, is the new talk of the fintech town. It is a model that clubs saving, spending and investing. Many startups in India including Multipl, OmniCard, Hubble Money and Tortoise operate on this model. Analysts say that the adoption and use of Save-to-Buy products have garnered investor interest in the global market. Many startups in the space globally have raised funding from leading investors. In January 2022, New York-based fintech startup Accrue Savings raised $25m in a fundraising round led by Tiger Global Management. SNBL builds on the existing tendency of Indians to save for their purchases instead of using credit. Ordinarily, a buyer would save for a few months to make a significant buy and companies operating under this business model incentivize the user in the form of rewards (discounts, cashbacks, etc.) when their savings goals are met. Users can invest or save for their predictable spends like vacation travel, anniversary jewellery, new version of the iPhone, wedding or even essential spends like insurance premiums or annual school fees and get benefits such as returns from the market, rewards and brand co-investments.