WayCool Foods Receives US$114K from Dutch Development Bank FMO for Kits

FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, has allocated a grant of US$114K to WayCool Foods, for procurement and distribution of dual-purpose PPE kits and enablement of on-site soil testing to farmers. It follows WayCool’s latest Debt Financing round of US$ 5.5 million, that was guaranteed by US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

The distribution is being carried out under the Outgrow Programme, the company’s flagship programme for farmers. Some 15,000 small holding farmers across 5 states in India will benefit through this unique initiative. The dual-purpose PPE kits will help protect farmers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and also shield them during agricultural operations such as pesticide spraying. In-situ soil testing will enable farmers to get their soil health measured without having to travel, thus facilitating effective soil management while maintaining social distancing.

Outgrow is the company’s agricultural extension programme that engages with farmers through their entire cultivation cycle, from planning to inputs to harvesting, substantially increasing profitability of the farmer, reducing their risk, and guaranteeing farmers 270 days of steady income by leveraging a host of emerging technologies.

The company has been leading efforts to help the Indian farmer cope with the current crisis, through various channels. Most recently, the company had run a crowd funding campaign for PPE kits through Milaap. It had also driven an awareness campaign showcasing the efforts of the farmer and trucker (the invisible hands in the agricultural supply chain). The FMO grant helps the company build upon this effort.

Sendhil Kumar Natarajan, head, agri initiatives, WayCool Foods, commenting on the initiative said, “Farmers are essential service providers as they feed the nation. They are also very vulnerable during disruptive events such as the ongoing pandemic. Our measures have focussed on enabling the farmers earn their livelihood while reducing the risks they face. The FMO grant will help us in protecting a significantly larger number of farmers and we thank FMO for their timely support.”

FMO’s grant demonstrates their commitment to supporting communities that require India’s food and agriculture distribution sector.

Speaking about the initiative, Jaap Reinking, director, private equity, FMO, said, “We are proud to offer additional support during this period. India has experienced one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. These measures left little recourse for the country’s millions of farmers, particularly those in the poorest provinces, who were unable to get access to essentials and protective equipment. The initiative’s goal is to find affordable and reliable sources of PPE and ensure these are allocated where they are needed most. Additionally, this grant will be used to procure Soil Testing kits for farmers, which will ultimately improve their income and reduce wastage.”

The company procures, processes, and distributes a range of food products including fresh produce, staples, and dairy products, moving over 250 tonne of food every day to 11,000 clients across South India. The company operates a soil-to-sale model, engaging deeply with a base of 40,000 farmers in more than 50 regions across India, while bringing efficiency through its direct supply chain model. The company plans to accelerate profitability and improve on its capital-efficient model by continuing to invest in technology and automation across the value chain.

The company has previously raised three rounds of funding from Lightbox, LGT Lightstone Aspada, FMO, Caspian Impact Investment, and Northern Arc Capital Limited.

Kastle Universal Banking Included in Global Banking Platform Deals Survey by Independent Research Firm

3i Infotech Limited (BSE: 532628, NSE: 3IINFOTECH), a global Information Technology company, committed to accelerating business transformation, has been recognized as a Solid Player and a Base and Regional Player in the combined and new deals categories respectively, for its banking product – Kastle, in the Forrester’s Global Banking Platform Deals Survey 2020. 

Speaking on the recognition, Mr. Padmanabhan Iyer, Managing Director and Global CEO, 3i Infotech said, “3i Infotech is honoured to have Kastle Universal Banking included by a prestigious institution like Forrester. We believe that this recognition reinforces our commitment of delivering next-gen products to our customers across the globe. By constantly upgrading our comprehensive set of IP based software solutions & IT services solutions, we have re-invented ourselves to address the dynamic requirements of BFSI industry.” 

“Kastle Universal Banking Solution is an end-to-end banking solution catering to the entire spectrum of banking across Lending, Islamic Finance, Core Banking, Treasury, Trade Finance, Integrated Risk Management, Digital Banking and Analytics. AMLOCK (Financial Crime Detection and Management Solution) coupled with Kastle Universal Banking Solution is a force multiplier for banks and financial institutions to be digitally equipped and be future-ready to meet their business goals. Multiple combined deals is a testimony to Kastle Innovative Banking Solution by banks and financial institutions across the globe. We are honoured by this recognition by Forrester,” said Krish Narayanaswami, President and Global Banking Head, 3i Infotech. 

Forrester’s Global Banking Platform Deals Survey 2020 is an independent survey conducted annually by Forrester. The research is published to guide decision-makers at financial institutions around the world. Forrester surveyed 35 key banking platform vendors about their 2019 deals and published the results from the survey in their report, The Banking Platform Market Remains Stagnant, Though Smaller Banks Are Turning To Fintechs - Forrester Report Link.

About 3i Infotech 

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, since inception in 1993, the Company has been committed to driving business value across multiple industry verticals and has a strong BFSI presence. The company has over 5500 employees in 31 offices across 12 countries and over 1200+ customers in more than 50 countries across 4 continents. With a comprehensive set of IP based software solutions and a wide range of IT services, 3i Infotech has successfully transformed business operations of customers globally. The Company has a very strong foothold and customer base in geographies like North America, India, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and South Asia.  

Its flagship products include Kastle™ (Universal Banking Solution), AMLOCK™ (Financial Crime Detection and Management Solution), MFund™ Plus (Asset Management Solution), Premia™ Astra (Core Insurance Solution) and Orion™ (Enterprise Resource Planning Solution). 3i Infotech provides IT Services across Mobility, Data Analytics, Block Chain, Cloud Life Cycle Management, Testing Services, Infrastructure Management, Application Development & Maintenance, Professional Services, IT Consulting and BPO. 

Samsung Offers 15% Cashback, Easy EMI Options and Exciting Deals this Ganesh Chaturthi

Festival Offers

* Get Galaxy S20+ worth INR 77,999 with QLED 8K TVs and Note 10 Lite worth INR 37,999 free with SpaceMax Family Hub Refrigerator 

Celebrating the auspicious festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, Samsung India, country’s most trusted consumer electronics brand, today announced exclusive offers for its televisions, refrigerators, smart ovens, washing machines and air conditioners.

These exciting offers, coupled with bundled deals, attractive finance schemes with up to 15% cash back, and easy EMIs of as low as INR 990 will be valid till August 31, 2020.

The unique offers provide assured benefits to consumers purchasing Samsung consumer durable products such as Samsung QLED TVs, 4K UHD TVs, Smart TVs, SpaceMax Family Hub™ Refrigerator, Side-by-Side and Frost Free Refrigerators, FlexWash Washing Machines, AddWash Washing Machines, Fully Automatic Front Load and Top Load Washing Machines, Smart Ovens and WindFree Air Conditioners, among others. Expanding its wide consumer electronics portfolio, Samsung recently launched Soundbars with the unique Q-Symphony feature in select models, to give an immersive sound with the TV.

During the offer period, consumers purchasing Samsung QLED 8K TVs will get a Galaxy S20+ worth INR 77,999. Additionally, consumers will get a 10-year no screen burn-in warranty on panel on select QLED TVs.

Consumers buying Samsung Smart TVs will get a cashback of up to INR 15000 and easy EMIs as low as INR 990 along with the convenience of one EMI off on 43-inch and above models. Delivering on the entertainment front, Samsung TVs come with one month free Zee5 subscription and 30% discount on Zee5 premium packs.

In the refrigerator category, consumers buying Samsung SpaceMax Family Hub™ Refrigerator will get a Galaxy Note10 Lite worth INR 37,999. Additionally, on purchase of Samsung refrigerators and washing machines, consumers can avail up to 15% cashback and easy EMI options as low as INR 990, along with one EMI off on refrigerators above 300L capacity.

While refrigerators will come with 10-year Warranty on the Digital Inverter Compressor, washing machines will come with 12-year Warranty on the motor and 30year Warranty on the complete machine. These offers are applicable on Family Hub, Side-by-Side and Frost-Free refrigerators, and on FlexWash and AddWash Washing Machines as well as Fully Automatic Front Load and Top Load Washing Machines.

Consumers purchasing Samsung Air Conditioners can avail easy EMIs of as low as INR 990. On purchase of Samsung’s Wind-Free™ Air Conditioner that comes with 23,000 micro-holes to gently spread air evenly throughout the room, maintaining a comfortable level of coolness without any draft, consumers will get up to 15% cash back Additionally, benefits such as 5-year condenser and PCB controller warranty, 10-year Warranty on the Digital Inverter Compressor on select air conditioner models along with free installation and free gas recharge will also be offered.

On purchase of select models of convection Smart Ovens, above 28L, consumers will get a free Borosil kit, a 10-year warranty on the ceramic enamel cavity along with 5-year warranty on the magnetron.

Adding to the occasion, Samsung with its My Samsung My EMI offer provides consumers with an option to choose EMIs and down payment as per their budget on select televisions, refrigerators, microwave and washing machines. Consumers can further avail options such as EMIs of up to 36 months and one free EMI on select TV and refrigerator models.

Festive season is the time when consumers upgrade to newer and smarter technologies to reimagine their homes. Being a consumer centric brand, our focus is to deliver unparalleled technology for our consumers. Samsung is committed to deliver the best products and our latest offers come with guaranteed benefits on a wide range of products across price points. With consumers seeking value proposition, we are confident these unique offers will meet their expectations and enrich their lives with meaningful innovation,” said, Raju Pullan, Senior Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India.

Samsung’s Diverse Product Line-up

Samsung QLED Televisions:

Samsung QLED TV breaks new ground for premium TVs and home entertainment, delivering beautiful design that is supported with the most advanced picture quality. Powered by HDR10+ technology that optimizes the TV’s brightness levels and delivers brighter and deeper colors, to deliver the visual experience intended by creators. The technology also features Direct Full Array Elite for enhanced contrast and precise picture quality.

The QLED TV features an Ambient Mode which turns the TV into a piece of art, building on the Ambient Mode’s ability to blend in with the home interior, the TV can be hung on the wall with a No Gap Wall-Mount, intelligently embedded in the back of the TV so that it blends in seamlessly. It also allows the users to take voice control one step further with the new Bixby feature on One Remote Control allowing connections to all connected devices without additional connectors or complicated setups.

4K UHD Televisions

Samsung’s 4K UHD TVs offers distinctive features through integration, consumption and interaction of TV in the everyday lives of its consumers. Driven by PurColor technology, Samsung UHD TVs are aimed to deliver superior colours with unmatched sharpness and contrast levels. With a host of features such as Live Cast, Tune Station, Screen Mirroring, Lag Free Gaming, Real 4K resolution and 60+ Titles. These TVs empower consumers to enjoy enhanced picture quality and superior content consumption capabilities.

Samsung Spacemax Family Hub™:

The Family Hub™ works with the SmartThings ecosystem, allowing users to control and monitor their connected appliances – Flex Wash Washing Machine and Smartphone – from the Family Hub™ screen. The built-in View Inside camera allows users to digitally label their food with expiration dates or use a mobile device to peek inside their fridge from anywhere. So now, consumers can see what is inside their fridge from the grocery store and/or leave a note on screen to remind the kids to clean their rooms after school. Users can do countless other things without ever leaving the kitchen.

Consumers can manage food, with the View Inside app that enables users to see inside the fridge from anywhere. The recipes app offers multiple recipes to choose from around the world and prepare the food that the family loves.

Samsung Side-by-Side and Frost Free Refrigerators:

The Spacemax Side-by-Side Refrigerators and Frost Free Refrigerators cater to the diverse storage needs of Indian consumers. Samsung refrigerators are a blend of freshness, energy efficiency, even cooling and durability. They are the perfect solution to provide savings on electricity bills, retain uninterrupted cooling and freshness even during power cuts.

WIND-FREE 2.0 SERIES:

Samsung’s Wind-Free™ 2.0 system uses 23,000 micro-holes to gently spread air evenly throughout the room, maintaining a comfortable level of coolness without any draft. Once the desired temperature is reached, the system disperses fresh air uniformly. The design has been upgraded to rectangular from the previous triangle design and with this change the micro-holes have been increased to 23,000 from 21,000 in the previous version.

The Wind-Free 2.0 enables users to control their ACs using the Smart Home App through Wi-Fi. The ACs allow the user to remotely control the functions and schedule operations along with live feedback. Users can also monitor and limit power usage as per their needs. The latest Wind-Free ACs are equipped with Motion Detect sensors (MDS) and automatically go into an energy saving mode if it does not detect any human presence for 60 minutes. Another option which users get through this feature is to choose the wind direction.

Samsung Digital Inverter Air Conditioners:

Samsung Air Conditioners have been designed carefully keeping in mind the consumers’ needs and expectations, which are faster cooling, less electricity consumption and uncompromised cooling even in hot summers. Convertible Mode, introduced this year, is Samsung’s another technology, which when activated allows consumers to save more energy when they are sitting alone in a room.

Samsung Microwave Ovens:

Samsung has revolutionized Indian cooking with innovations in microwave ovens that have been made specifically for India. Consumers can now prepare Masala, Tadka and Sun-dry food, in addition to making Roti/Naan and Curd in the new Microwave range.

Samsung Digital Inverter Motor Washing Machines:

Samsung Washing Machines, powered by digital inverter motors, consume less energy while producing minimal noise and vibration, when the washing machine is running. Having less friction makes the washing machine run much quieter and smoothly, which makes it perfect for open plan living and keeping that budget in check.

SBI Further Empowers Farmers with YONO Krishi; Introduces Kisan Credit Card Review on the Platform

Kisan Credit Card (KCC) 

* Bank introduces KCC Review feature on the YONO Krishi platform which has been witnessing great response from farmers

* YONO KCC Review to enable farmers access their KCC limit on YONO in just four clicks

* YONO KCC Review to benefit more than 75 lakh farmers

* YONO KCC review will empower farmers to embrace digital technology and make them future-ready

* YONO Krishi platform offers a one-stop solution to all farmers’ agricultural needs

Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) continues to empower its farmer customers by offering them technology backed agricultural solutions with YONO Krishi. The recently launched platform that caters to all the requirements of farmers – from sowing to harvesting and then selling – has been receiving significant traction from the farmers. In the current unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SBI is set to make lives easier for its farmer customers by introducing the KCC Review option on YONO Krishi. With this added feature, farmers will no longer need to travel the distance to visit the bank branch to apply for a revision in their KCC limit. KCC Review option on YONO Krishi will help farmers apply for the same in just 4 clicks from the comfort of their homes without any paperwork.

Recognizing the fact that not all farmers may have access to smartphones, SBI has also streamlined the KCC review process at its branches. KCC Review on YONO Krishi is expected to benefit more than 75 lakh farmers having KCC accounts with SBI. The feature of paperless KCC review will not only help farmers save costs and effort involved in applying for revision of the KCC limit, but also make the process quicker for them especially during the harvesting season.

Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI said, “Introduction of YONO KCC Review on YONO Krishi is SBI’s yet another initiative to make our farmer customers, future-ready by offering them constant digital innovations pertaining to their agricultural needs. This new feature has been added keeping in mind millions of our valuable farmer customers’ convenience and safety. We believe that they will now be experiencing hassle-free application process for their KCC limit revision. With a Digital-First approach, it is SBI’s continuous endeavor to provide innovative digital banking solutions to all our diverse set of customers across the country.”

Apart from KCC Review, the multi-lingual YONO Krishi platform - which is bringing-in technology to farmers in more than 10 vernacular languages - is offering services such as YONO Khata, YONO Bachat, YONO Mitra and YONO Mandi to its farmer customers. These unique offerings facilitate farmers with Agri loan products, an online marketplace to buy and rent agricultural inputs and equipment, customized farming advisory, investment, and crop insurance products, instant agri gold loan, upgrade to scientific farming practices, and much more. With YONO Krishi, SBI has opened the doors of digital agriculture to farmers. In just one year of its launch, YONO Krishi has disbursed more than 14 lakh Agri Gold loans and has seen more than 15 lakh clicks on YONO Mandi and YONO Mitra

YONO itself has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two and a half years since its launch. It has seen more than 58 million downloads with over 26 million registered users. YONO has partnered with over 80 e-commerce players in more than 20 categories. The bank’s flagship banking and lifestyle platform – YONO is also tasting success in international markets such as the UK and Mauritius.

BPO and IT Sectors Lead Talent Demand Recovery with Double-Digit M-o-M Growth: RecruiteX

* BPO (15%), IT (10%) and BFSI (7%) emerged as the top three sectors with maximum M-o-M growth in talent demand in July 2020   

* BFSI – had shed most talent demand in June 2020 - picked up the pace and gained 7% growth in talent demand in July 2020 M-o-M study

* Customer Services/Tele Calling, Front Office/Administration and IT/Telecom were the most sought after job profiles in July 2020

* Vadodara (over 30% growth) and Hyderabad/Secunderabad (16%) were the top gainers for talent demand in July 2020 study

* Professionals with 5-10 years of experience were most in-demand in the review month

With ‘recovery’ as the key focus in ‘Unlock3’, talent demand is already picking pace as BPO and IT/Telecom sectors noted a double-digit growth in July 2020 analysis. TimesJobs RecruiteX noted that BPO (15%), IT (10%) and BFSI (7%) emerged as the top three sectors with maximum M-o-M growth in talent demand in July 2020.      

TimesJobs RecruiteX is a monthly recruitment index that records the demand and supply of talent at India Inc.

Overall, talent demand in July 2020 grew by 2% M-o-M, pushed largely by growth in high volume sectors like BPO, IT and BFSI.

Talking about the details of RecruiteX July 2020 edition, Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “The talent demand trends for July 2020 are heartening. Though the overall growth in July 2020 is only 2% since it’s based largely on high volume sectors as BPO, IT and BFSI, I’m very confident that this trend will continue in the coming months. I foresee the talent demand to pick up from here on as India Inc has actively started working towards the road to recovery. Smart companies are, now, focussing on constructive learnings from this difficult situation which would help them to grow in future. ”

Industry-wise (MoM growth):

Following its growth pattern of June 2020, the BPO sector saw an impressive 15% M-o-M increment in talent demand in July 2020 too. The IT/Telecom and BFSI sectors had witnessed (-6%) and (-2%) de-growth respectively in June 2020 but bounced back in July 2020. Here are the top three sectors for talent demand in July 2020:

·         BPO: 15%

·         IT/Telecom: 10%

·         BFSI: 7%

Functional areas:

Customer Services/Tele Calling job profile jumped from 4% growth in talent demand in June 2020 to 18% growth in July 2020. On the other hand, Front Office/Administration profile had clocked 21% growth in June 2020, but could only register 11% growth in July 2020 analysis of talent demand. Here are the top three job profiles as per talent demand in July 2020:

·         Customer Services/ Tele Calling: 18%

·         Front Office/ Administration: 11%

·         IT/Telecom: 8%

Location-wise:

Most talent demand in July 2020 was posted in Tier-II cities, with Vadodara recording a growth of over 30%. Among the metropolitan cities, Chennai saw the most growth with 10% increment. Mumbai and Delhi noted 8% and 1% growth in July 2020. Bengaluru noted de-growth of (-7%) in July 2020.  Here are the top three cities as per talent demand in July 2020:

·         Vadodara: over 30% growth

·         Hyderabad/Secunderabad: 16%

·         Ahmedabad: 11%

Work experience-wise:

Professionals with 5-10 years of work experience were most in demand, and this category noted 11% M-o-M growth in talent demand. Here are the categories of work professionals as per talent demand in July 2020:

·         5-10 years of work experience:11%

·         2-5years of work experience: 8%

Mswipe Launches “Bank Box” to Revolutionize the Digital Payment Landscape for SMEs

 * New affordable offerings comprising of zero rental and zero MDR solutions

* Small businesses can collect and pay digitally even without a bank account

* Enters issuance business with Mswipe Moneyback Card to help merchants earn as they spend

* One-time digital KYC for hassle free and instant signup

Mswipe announced today the launch of Bank Box, a digital acceptance and payment solution designed to meet the cost-centric needs of MSMEs and merchants, as well as provide for a seamlessly integrated experience. Through this launch, Mswipe aims to pave the way for a futuristic payment solution platform and address key challenges that merchants and MSMEs face, with recurring costs on POS terminals like PoS rentals and Merchant Discount Rate (MDR).

Mswipe, India’s largest merchant acquirer with a network of 6.75 lakh POS and 1.1 million QR merchants, set out with the vision to build a cutting edge product – one that combines their acquiring and issuing platforms into a one-stop-shop, “Bank Box”, which enables easy signup, instant activation of the terminal and lifetime zero rental and zero effective MDR for merchants.

Manish Patel, Founder and CEO, Mswipe said, “COVID-19 has significantly impacted the earnings of small businesses, which in turn has led to curbed expenditures from their end. As a market innovator, Mswipe is helping MSMEs and merchants control costs incurred while accepting digital payments and further incentivize them to make digital payments. Essentially, Mswipe’s Bank Box facilitates small, medium and micro businesses to break into the digital ecosystem at the lowest possible TCO and sign up - even if they do not have a bank account.”

With a one-time digital KYC, businesses can choose between Bank Box Go - a POS solution with zero rental and zero MDR or Bank Box Lite - a QR solution with 0 rental and 1% cashback on all transactions and instantly go live. In both offerings a merchant gets a UPI QR and a Moneyback Card. Bank Box Go additionally provides an affordable mPOS capable of accepting chip + pin and contactless card payments. For Bank Box Go merchants have to pay a one-time fee of Rs. 4,000 plus taxes while for Bank Box Lite, they pay only Rs.199 plus taxes.

Sameer Hoda, President, Strategy and Operations, Mswipe said, “With Bank Box we have democratized the digital acceptance and payments ecosystem for the smallest of businesses by giving them a choice. With Mswipe now both an acquirer and issuer, we have provided an end-to-end digital enablement of MSMEs and merchants and empowered them to join the Digital Bharat movement.”

While mPOS allows acceptance of multiple modes of payments including UPI, Visa, Mastercard and American Express, mQR accepts payments from more than 150 UPI and mobile banking apps like PayTM, Axis Bank and BHIM among others. To spend digitally, merchants can load their Mcard with up to Rs. 1,00,000 per month.

Mswipe is targeting merchants with an average daily digital collection of Rs. 2,000 - Rs.2,500 in tier 3-4 markets and Rs. 8,000 - Rs. 10,000 in Metro and semi-urban areas.

About Mswipe:

Mswipe aims to be India’s largest financial services platform for SMEs and merchants by providing seamless mobile POS and value-added Services. It is the largest independent mobile POS merchant acquirer and network provider with 6.75 lakh POS and 1 million QR merchants across the country. Mswipe offers a host of POS solutions for all types of payment acceptance - cards, wallets, mobile payment apps and bank apps, contactless and QR payments. Headquartered in Mumbai, Mswipe began operations in 2011. Its key investors include B Capital, UC-RNT, Falcon Edge Capital, Matrix Partners India, DSG Partners and Epiq Capital. 

Ameyo Reaches Turnover of Rs. 90 Cr in FY 2020 with 27% EBITDA

Ameyo, a leading provider of Omnichannel Customer Engagement Technology today revealed business results from FY 19-20, a year during which the company grew at 30% with 27% EBITDA to reach a turnover of Rs. 90 crores.

Over the last few years, Ameyo has been pivoting its revenue model from licenses to a subscription business with 50% recurring revenue of Rs. 45 crores in FY 19-20.

The firm has a presence in 60+ countries with international business contributing to almost 43% of the turnover at Rs. 38.4 crore

Commenting on this growth, Bishal Lachhiramka, Co-founder & CEO, Ameyo, mentions, “Ameyo has continued to grow at a steady pace with profitability, thanks to our focus on creating products & solutions that provide value to our customers. With COVID-19 and the focus on digital transformation, our growth has been accelerated. We will continue to focus on creating solutions for the unique problems of emerging geographies.”

During Q1, 2020, Ameyo grew its customer base by over 100 percent, adding HDFC ERGO General Insurance, Sridhar Insurance, Apollo Health and Lifestyle, Zolo, BYJU’S, D.Light, STC Channels, LR Data, SP Madrid, Toppr, Jubilant FoodWorks, Spice Money, Rebel Foods (Faasos), The Muthoot Group, Vistaprint, and many more.

Ameyo recently launched the RBI compliant Video KYC engagement platform with omnichannel capabilities that allow the Regulated Entities (REs) to reduce onboarding drop-offs by 20% and reduce the cost of KYC by 90%. The solution is built for scale and operates even at low internet bandwidth and a variety of devices to target the masses.

Sachin Bhatia, Co-founder and Global Sales & Marketing Head at Ameyo, adds, “Contact centers are going to play a pivotal role in the post-COVID-19 times, as they provide the last line of human to human interaction between brands and consumers. We are very bullish about the next wave of growth with our new product launches that enable brands with remote solutions for Sales, Onboarding, Customer Service, and Collection use cases.

In the near future, Ameyo plans to launch a series of solutions in the AI space using their own IP as well as by partnering with market leaders in the space. The firm has invested in AI to use sentiment analysis in the routing of interactions and is planning to use it for three main purposes i.e. Intelligent Routing, Assisted Service, and Quality Monitoring.

Geographically they will continue to expand into newer markets in Southeast Asia, ME, and Africa and have recently also entered the markets of South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Vietnam.

The 400+ employees strength company initially started off with solutions for contact center channels like voice and email but today they are catering to all social media and chat platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Google Play Store, Instagram, Twitter, and Viber.

About Ameyo

Ameyo is an Omnichannel customer engagement platform that helps businesses go remote with its 3 Unique Remote Contact Center Solutions and help them streamline their customer service, customer support, and collection processes.

Ameyo's robust platform is available for on-cloud and on-premise implementation with private, public, as well as hybrid instances. It has pre-built integrations with all significant industry-grade CRMs. Ameyo provides strong omnichannel capabilities of Voice, IVR, ACD, Dialers, Email, Chat, and Social Media such as Instagram, Google Play, Twitter, Facebook & WhatsApp. 

NoBrokerHood Launches Touchless Entry with Face Recognition to Make Society Living More Secure

We would have seen countless sci-fi and James Bond movies with facial recognition technology as it is considered to be cutting-edge, safest, and fool proof in security systems. NoBrokerHood, the leading visitor and society management app by NoBroker.com brings the reel life experience to real life with its latest launch, Touchless Entry with facial recognition technology. Touchless Entry is designed to enhance the safety, security, and convenience of residents in building societies. The company has used the latest technology and adapted it to give the users a truly fool proof, intuitive, and no-contact experience using the NoBrokerHood app.

The tech-driven company continues its focus on bringing the technology of the future to your home. Touchless Entry starts with a Face Capture and your ‘Daily Help’ or servicemen will be added to the app. Here, 3 scans are taken of the person’s face – Left, Right and Centre to ensure high accuracy. This is a one-time process that takes less than 30 seconds.

Once the individual is added, every time they enter after that they will just have to face the guard’s mobile phone camera for a millisecond. Touchless Entry is fool proof and can process 5 faces in less than a second! Once the scan is done and matches with the records the entry is automatically approved. This is much more secure and faster process than any other technology available till now.

All the information including face scans are 100% safe and secure. The feature is centred around user’s security. It is not a third-party application which means, it’s completely made in India, by NoBroker, and data is not shared ANYWHERE or with ANYONE.

The face scanning and processing happens on the guard app in the device itself. Very minimal information is transferred and exchanged to the backend. The information saved is an encrypted representation of a face, and NOT an image of a face. There is no way to recreate a face using this high-level encrypted information.

Akhil Gupta, Cofounder and CTO of NoBroker said, “We noticed that the entries and attendance done for domestic help, and service staff, was done through two methods – Passcodes and Fingerprint scans (biometric). When you use the passcode method to monitor entry, there is a possibility that others can gain entry by proxy. They could use someone else’s passcode and enter your building society. To fix this issue, fingerprint scanning was introduced. This method is fool-proof and eliminates the possibility of proxy entries. But, when COVID-19 is causing chaos, we wanted to find a way to eliminate touch, without diminishing security. This technology meant to revolutionise the home security system was built completely inhouse.”

Societies that are already using NoBrokerHood can request a trial of this feature today! The company is rolling it out to a few select societies for FREE for a limited period. If you want to try it just sign up for NoBrokerHood and you too might get to try it for FREE.

About NoBrokerHood

NoBroker launched NoBrokerHood, a smart visitor and residential community management system that makes life more convenient and secure for residents of housing societies and townships. NoBrokerHood acquired Society Connect in February 2020 to integrate financial module with its services on one single platform and make society living easy and hassle-free.

NoBroker.com is a tech-enabled brokerage-free real estate platform that makes the real estate transactions seamless and efficient. It participates in the entire user journey starting from the house search to packers & movers, home loans, rental agreements, cleaning services, and NoBroker Pay. With more than 8.5 mn registered users, it’s the world’s largest C2C real estate platform. Founded by Amit Kumar Agarwal, Saurabh Garg and Akhil Gupta, it has raised total funding of $151 million.

Hyundai Partners with HDFC Bank Offering Customised Online Car Financing Solutions on ‘Click to Buy’

Finance Solutions 

* First OEM to offer retail financing solutions on online car buying platform

* Eliminates customer need to visit HDFC Bank/ Branch to avail car financing solutions

* Customised retail financing solutions available at the click of a button

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), country’s first smart mobility solutions provider and largest exporter since inception, announced its partnership with HDFC Bank, offering industry first online auto retail financing solutions to the customers on India’s only end-to-end online automotive retail platform ‘Click to Buy’.  

Under the ambit of this partnership, Hyundai will offer its customers customised car financing solutions from HDFC Bank directly on the ‘Click to Buy’ online car buying platform. Through this partnership, customer can opt for loans and get the requisite funding to complete life goals of buying their Favourite Hyundai car. The integration of HDFC Bank’s car finance solutions on ‘Click to Buy’ adds further comfort to customers as it eliminates the need for customers to visit HDFC Bank/ Branch to avail loans.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr W S Oh, Executive Director – Corporate Planning, Hyundai Motor India said “Keeping our promise of providing a holistic digital car buying experience to our customers, our partnership with HDFC bank will forge a new beginning for the customer purchase journey from any virtual location with the most lucrative finance deals. Since the launch of Click to Buy, we have received over 9 lakh visitors on the platform and have recorded over 17 000 Registrations in two months. 

Speaking on the alliance Mr. Arvind Kapil, Country Head for Retail Lending at HDFC Bank, "The partnership with Hyundai Motor India is in line with our belief that a digital eco-system needs to be created to enhance customer experience, particularly in the current environment. An eco-system that brings OEMs, dealerships and financiers together and enables a customer to purchase a new car sitting in the comfort of their homes. At the core of our digital strategy is Analytics and APIs .Analytics helps us understand our customers better and give them customized product offerings and services. While APIs enables us to create a seamless connect between various stake-holders keeping the customer at the centre. We are happy to say the association with Hyundai Motor India is a win-win not just for customers but all players in the auto industry”

‘Click to Buy’ is designed to facilitate end-to-end retail of Hyundai cars online making owning a new car – contactless, safer, convenient and hassle free. With ‘Click to Buy’ Hyundai is offering access to its complete range of car models and is the only platform that covers all stages of customer purchase journey in an even more seamless and convenient manner. Through this online car buying platform, Hyundai is offering customer delight with features such as on-road prices, dedicated sales consultants, online finance options, fastest loan approval for pre-approved customers, unique deal codes for customer discounts, estimated time of delivery, special online promotions, online booking for test drive cars (Fully Sanitized) and home delivery of completely sanitized cars. 

US Financial bailout may top $1 trillion

The Obama administration said Tuesday its new plan for rescuing America's crippled banking and financial sectors could top $1 trillion in a complex formula of cash infusions from government and the private sector.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner revealed the massive rescue effort just hours after President Barack Obama said at his first White House news conference that Congress risked turning ``a crisis into a catastrophe'' if it fails to approve a separate $800-plus billion economic stimulus program. The plan has faced stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers.

The new financial bailout plan brought forward by Geithner grows out of a $700 billion rescue program put in place in October, under the Bush administration, as the depth of the country's critical financial sector troubles surfaced with a collapse of the housing market.

``Right now critical parts of our financial system are damaged,'' Geithner said in unveiling the new plan. ``Instead of catalyzing recovery, the financial system is working against recovery and that's the dangerous dynamic we need to change.''

Half of the bailout money was allocated by former President George W. Bush's administration, but that spending has come under heavy criticism for a lack of transparency and the failure of banks to put the money into the frozen credit market.

The second half of the $700 billion is now in the hands of the Obama administration, which plans to greatly expand the effort to unclog credit markets that provide loans to consumers and businesses. Funding for this effort would see a huge increase from $20 billion up to $100 billion, according to administration officials.

If a total of $100 billion from the bailout fund was used, it would be enough to support an additional $1 trillion in lending support through a Federal Reserve program that was announced in November but has yet to begin operations.

The administration also announced that the program would be expanded beyond consumer and small business loans to provide aid to the troubled commercial real estate sector.

The administration also announced a program to create a partnership between the government and the private sector to get private investors to buy bad assets that are currently weighing down the balance sheets of banks. Congressional aides who were briefed on this plan said that Treasury officials said it could involve between $250 billion and $500 billion in government support.

As Geithner put forward the new bailout package, the Senate, despite nearly unanimous Republican opposition, was expected to approve a $838 billion stimulus bill later Tuesday. Senate approval would set the stage for possibly contentious negotiations with the House on a final compromise on legislation. Congressional leaders hope to get the bill to Obama's desk in a few days.

Obama defended the stimulus plan in his press conference Monday night, saying the federal government ``is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life.''

``The plan is not perfect,'' the president said. ``No plan is. I can't tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans.''

Obama goes to Fort Myers, Florida, a metropolitan area among the hardest-hit by mortgage foreclosures, for another town-hall meeting Tuesday like the one he held Monday in Elkhart, Indiana, to promote his economic plan.

Just three weeks after his inauguration was celebrated jubilantly around the world, Obama has run into the jarring difficulties of governing. He failed to win over the Republicans he courted for his economic plan. Some of his supporters have wondered if he has yielded too much ground in the pursuit of bipartisanship.

Yet Obama's approval ratings remain high — 67 per cent according to a Gallup Organization poll released Monday. He is trying to tap into that popularity to win public and congressional support for his economic recovery plan as the country faces its worst economic crisis in 80 years.

``This is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill recession,'' Obama said in his address Monday night, issuing a dire warning of the consequences if Congress fails to agree on a stimulus package. He cited Japan's failure to take bold actions in time to reverse a recession that turned the 1990s into a ``lost decade'' with no economic growth.

Despite painting a dire picture of the American economy, Obama said the US could well be in better shape by next year, as measured by increased hiring, lending, home values and other factors.

``If we get things right, then, starting next year, we can start seeing significant improvement,'' Obama said.

Agencies