Fxkart aims to make forex transactions more seamless with their web and mobile app
Technology may be a double-edged sword, but it has brought the world closer and people can now track global events in real time as they are being reported. The smartphone revolution, too, brought a paradigm shift. There are now on demand services for almost every sector such as cab services, logistics, food tech startups, handymen etc.
This has brought many benefits to consumers and service providers alike. Consumers get assured and standardized services while service providers get larger volume of orders and increased discoverability for their offerings. Along similar lines, Fxkart aims to make foreign exchange trading easier through their web and mobile platform.
An aggregator for forex services
Fxkart.com is an online aggregator of foreign exchange dealers and aims to improve the consumer experience of carrying out forex transactions while travelling to or from India.The startup has its international headquarters in Dubai and Indian headquarters in Bengaluru.Their target is to get to the consumer the best deal on forex transactions while helping dealers get visibility with consumers and hence more volume.
About two months ago they launched a Forex booking mobile app showcasing 1000+ dealer locations across the country. The app includes features like geo-location, instant chat and deal tracking. It aims to provide the consumer the best exchange rates by comparing rates across foreign exchange dealers in the city, who compete for the consumer’s business.
Fxkart.com was founded by Dr Mushtaq Shah, who was head of research for Equinox Capital Management. As he travelled abroad frequently on work, he found the prospect of going to banks or individual Forex dealers cumbersome as it involved haggling over prices. So he founded Fxkart to turn the problem on its head.
He later roped in Dr Faraz Naqvi as strategic advisor and Abdul Hadi Shaikh as CEO. Abdul was the head of research at Ratings Intelligence, an ethical investment advisory firm, based in London. The entire team consists of about 25 people across technology, marketing, operations and sales.
Business model
Fxkart’s services are free for the end consumer and they monetize through B2B channels. They earn a commission for transactions through their portal. Dealers need to supply their live rates in real time and bid for the consumer’s attention and Fx requirement in a five minute bidding window. Other noteworthy platforms that are in this sector are BuyForexOnline, CashKumar, BookMyForex and cross border money transfer startup InstaRem.
Funding and future plans
Fxkart had recently received $2M seed funding from Mushtaq and Faraz. This seed funding was in their private individual capacities. The funding will be utilized in enhancing their mobile app and also bringing more forex dealers on to the platform. They are currently active on Android and plan to launch an iOS app in the next few months.
Abdul, CEO added
In the next six months of our operations we have targeted to achieve an online transaction of more than Rs35 crores with 100+ pan India dealers, 2000 branches and 6000 customers.