TMW Pay is an Indian fintech company which enables consumers to purchase goods and services using their mobile phone. It has strong ambitions to grow its customer base within the UK and Europe.
We spoke to Vinay Kalantri, founder and managing director at TMW Pay, about the company's growth strategy and why the UK is a good base from which to expand into the rest of Europe.
What does your company do?
We are a fintech company. We operate a smart spend account which enables consumers to make financial transactions using their mobile phone or a pre-paid card. We are based in India and now we are now expanding into the UK where we will be continuing with the same concept.
“We thought the UK was the best market to open our second branch as it is one of the most advanced markets in the financial sector.”
What presence do you have in the UK?
We have already opened a location in the UK in Berkeley Square in London where we have four people out of a total staff of 250 people. We thought the UK was the best market to open our second branch as it is one of the most advanced markets in the financial sector. That is the reason we selected the UK over any other country. A lot of things can be done from the UK into multiple other markets and it's also the closest market to a very large market which is Europe. London will be our headquarters for the whole of Europe and the UK. And the language barrier is zero.
“A lot of things can be done from the UK into multiple other markets and it's also the closest market to a very large market which is Europe. London will be our headquarters for the whole of Europe and the UK.”
What else proved attractive about the UK market?
A good thing about the UK is that the regulatory environment is very flexible and very easy. Another thing that attracted us is that there is a lot of good talent in the UK. There are a lot of fintech companies in the UK market today. In addition it is a market where fintech solutions are already known by customers so it is easier to get the customer and to get into the market and get started. We are looking at getting a 5 to 10 per cent market share in the UK in year one.
We are looking for investors for the UK business. We want to launch first and then we will for investors for the product. The UK is amazing for attracting investors because people understand the UK market.
We have been dealing with the City of London for the past 6 months. It is thanks to them that we have been able to grow so fast and come so close to the launch of our product. They have helped us with everything and connected us to the right people. Without their help it would not have been possible to grow to the level we have been growing.