Junio is a smart card that allows digital and physical purchases to kids. As per the website, the credit card imparts financial discipline to children. It is similar to FamPay (1), backed by Y-Combinator.
Moreover, parents can control the smart card via an app to make in-app task lists and tie them with perks. It also allows instant fund transfer, notifications, and flexibility to cancel the card at any time with the app.
The app may go live in the upcoming weeks from now, according to the sources.
With Junio, Nath and Gera have also joined the list of former Paytm executives who have embarked on an entrepreneurial path. It includes Amit Bagaria, Amit Lakhotia, Saurabh Vashishtha, Deepak Abbot, Amit Sinha, and Nitin Misra.
Amit Bagaria and Vashishtha have launched a social, commercial platform SimSim, whereas Amit Lakhotia has launched a parking app called Park+. Nitin Mishra and Deepak Abbot have launched a fintech app called Indiagold. Notably, these executives have made a massive fortune via the Paytm ESOPs.
Junio is Set to Compete with FamPay in India in the kids’ Fintech Sector.
According to the sources, Nath and Gera are not looking to secure funds anytime soon.
Nath served Paytm as a CMO or Chief Marketing officer from December 2013 to November 2018, about five years. After departing from Paytm, he took leave for two years. At the same time, Gera spent more than four and a half years at the firm.
Even though the kids-focused fintech sector is still at a nascent stage in the country, Junio is set to compete with FamPay backed by Sequoia. FamPay was launched in early 2019 and had already raised 4.7 million USD in a seed funding round led by Y-Combinator, Global Founders Capital, and Sequoia India.
Several startups from the US and other western countries have evangelized kids-focused fintech and neo-banks. However, it is still a new concept in India. Greenlight, a startup based in Atlanta, USA, is one of space’s early entrants. It started smart cards that focused on kids in 2017 and has recently turned into a unicorn with 250 million USD capital from TTV Capital, Canapi Ventures, DST, and others.
