OneCard’s Success Story: How it Provides India with the Smartest Metal Credit Card

Isn’t it thrilling to have a credit card? It is one of the most potent weapons a guy can possess. However, because you must pay for your credit card bill later, you must use it correctly.

VISA, MasterCard, and other credit card companies are examples. However, digitalization has brought about significant changes in how we use credit cards and the benefits that they provide. These benefits include a hassle-free shopping experience, simple cash withdrawal, the elimination of the need to carry cash, and hundreds of incentives and offers such as cashback and discounts. Most working people use credit cards, which have become an essential part of their life.

What is OneCard and how does it work?

FPL Technologies, which was founded in 2019, introduced the brand ‘OneCard’ to reimagine credit card, which is constructed in metal with full stack tech and supported by transparency and clarity, making it India’s best-ever mobile credit card. OneCard now operates in 12 Indian cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and NCR.

OneCard, the newest unicorn firm, has partnered with various institutions including IDFC First Bank, SBM Bank, South Indian Bank, Federal Bank, and Bank of Baroda Financial. It claims to have over 600,000 users around the country.

To maintain security, the organisation boasts of a strong dedication to the data protection of its consumers. It maintains and utilises user data in accordance with regulatory compliance by employing rock-solid secure methods and technological implementations.

OneCard’s credit card allows customers to control every aspect of a credit card, including local or foreign use, transaction limits, online or offline purchases, contactless payments, and many other features.

Any client that want to begin utilising OneCard will have a simple onboarding process. The credit card is activated digitally and in less than five minutes. It has no hidden prices or yearly fees and provides its consumers with greater transactional freedom. 

It also provides EMI transactions, which provide additional benefits to its consumers. Finally, one of the intriguing characteristics of OneCard is that the credit card may be shared with the user’s family, with the family receiving their own OneCard, the spending of which can be monitored and managed by the user. OneCard is compatible with both Android and iOS.

FPL Technologies also operates another app called ‘OneScore,’ which allows users to track their credit score. This app has around 70 million users.

Founders of OneCard

In 2019, three banking veterans, Rupesh Kumar, Anurag Sinha, and Vibhav Hathi, established OneCard.

Mr. Rupesh Kumar

Rupesh Kumar earned his master’s degree in Analytical Finance from the Indian School of Business. He also graduated from IIT Delhi with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Rupesh began his career as a Software Engineer at Geometric Ltd. He also spent nearly two years at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

Rupesh spent 18 years at ICICI Bank, where he was involved in establishing and expanding mobile banking and digital payments such as iMobile, UPI, Immediate Payment Services, Digital Wallet (Pockets), and Internet banking. He was in charge of equity and debt fundraising.

Mr. Anurag sinha

Anurag Sinha graduated from IIT Varanasi. He earned his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore. Anurag is a member of the Shoolini University Global Advisory Board in Himachal Pradesh. Prior to launching OneCard, he launched Walnut Software in 2016, a personal financial mobile app that automatically records spending, bank and card balances, P2P & bill payments, and divides expenditures without using bank passwords. Capital Float later purchased the firm. He has held crucial positions in a number of corporations. He spent the most time in ICICI Bank, where he worked for 13 years. Anurag Sinha is the current CEO of FPL Technologies.

Mr. Vibhav hathi

Vibhav Hathi spent 14 years in ICICI Bank, where he held many important positions. Vibhav developed his first firm, Open Canvas, which is a mobile-based transaction platform that drives inter-operable digital payment, before joining OneCard. He was also a Management Trainee at Reliance. Vibhav earned his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata.

Business and Revenue Model of OneCard

OneCard’s business concept is a mobile-based application approach. The firm primarily provides B2C solutions by collaborating with multiple banks to provide credit card services. The primary focus of the organisation is on consumer-based initiatives and enhancing the customer experience.

OneCard’s primary business is to supply first-time credit card users with a virtual, cellphone-based card to assist them improve their credit score. It also provides an EMI option for purchases of Rs 3,000 or more, with a 1.33% interest rate and a repayment term of 3-24 months. The credit card may be used online as well as offline. It also provides its clients with a loyalty programme in which they may earn reward points to spend on their purchases.

OneCard’s core structure includes a technical stack that provides common sense features such as transaction monitoring, credit card bill due dates, and more easily accessible rewards.

In fiscal year 2021, the company’s sales surpassed Rs 10 crore. In addition, the company’s overall expenditures climbed by 4.3 times to Rs 33.15 crore.

OneCard – Difficulties

One of the most difficult difficulties that OneCard faces is competition from UPIs. UPIs built by retail banks are rapidly gaining popularity. Although the quick introduction of UPI lowered the use of debit cards, credit cards appear to be relatively unaffected. However, the central bank’s recent directive that the role of co-branding partners for credit cards should be confined to marketing and distribution of cards and providing cardholder access to the items and services offered is expected to affect many credit card startups.

Aside from that, the integration of credit cards with UPI implies that credit card usage would expand, but it also offers a challenge to their business model due to a lack of clarity on the merchant discount rate (MDR) for such charges.