Hyderabad-based Equal is simplifying financial data sharing with consent-based solutions

For years, the financial services sector has struggled with fragmented, inefficient, and cumbersome data-sharing processes, limiting individuals, SMEs, and even large financial institutions from accessing the services they needed. 

Recognising this challenge, Keshav Reddy, along with Rajeev Ranjan, launched Equal in 2022. The Hyderabad-based startup is an identity verification aggregator that helps businesses address critical pain points such as Know Your Customer (KYC), fraud prevention, onboarding, income validation, and regulatory compliance.

“By streamlining data exchange, we aim to drive financial inclusion, enhance accessibility, and unlock new growth opportunities for businesses and individuals alike,” Reddy tells YourStory.

Someone who has been passionate about solving complex problems at scale, Reddy says, the idea for Equal stemmed from the realisation that while data is key to financial access, the process of sharing it remains inefficient. 

Keshav and Rajeev, who met through a mutual advisor, Anita Ramachandran, realised that by simplifying and securing the financial process, they could potentially create a more efficient and transparent system. 

“Once we met, we immediately connected over our shared vision for simplifying data sharing and knew this was a problem worth solving,” says Reddy.

Reddy says, while his journey began in infrastructure, healthcare, and aviation sectors, it was in fintech that he discovered the immense potential of data in unlocking financial opportunities.

As the company scaled, Krishna Prasad joined as the third co-founder in early 2024, bringing in his expertise in technology and data security. Reddy was a client of Krishan Prasad, who was at OneMoney back then, and the mutual passion for building for India and data sharing led them to partner and work together.

How does it work?

Equal provides an integrated solution that combines identity verification with consent-driven financial data sharing, ensuring privacy, security, and regulatory compliance. 

At its core, the company offers two key products—the KYC Aggregator and the Account Aggregator.

The KYC Aggregator is a high-precision identity verification system that connects with over 50 ID databases and 4,000+ API providers, enabling businesses to verify identities quickly and accurately. By minimising fraud and reducing verification time, it streamlines customer onboarding while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. 

The Account Aggregator (AA) operates as an RBI-regulated NBFC-AA, facilitating secure, consent-based financial data sharing. It allows banks, fintechs, and financial institutions to access verified financial information, such as bank statements and investment data, instantly and securely.

Built on an API-first infrastructure, the platform enables real-time and compliant data exchange. The process begins with user consent, ensuring that individuals remain in control of their personal information. When a customer agrees to share their identity or financial data, a request is initiated through Equal’s platform. Since it is B2B so the customers use the technology of the merchant.

Equal is not a standalone app that individuals need to download separately. Instead, it operates as an API-first platform that integrates directly with banks, fintechs, NBFCs, and enterprises.

For identity verification, the KYC Aggregator retrieves data from trusted government and private databases, while for financial data sharing, the Account Aggregator gathers information from banks and financial institutions.

Once the data request is made, Equal’s system encrypts the incoming data for secure transit, normalises it into a standardised format for consistency, and routes it intelligently to the best available provider to maximise verification success rates. 

For KYC aggregation, the system quickly verifies a customer’s identity to meet compliance requirements. In financial data sharing, the platform compiles and securely transmits verified financial information to the requesting institution, all in real time. The standardised and verified data is then delivered securely to banks, fintechs, and enterprises, streamlining decision-making processes such as lending and onboarding, while adhering to strict regulatory requirements.

“By integrating identity verification and financial data sharing on a single platform, Equal simplifies onboarding, fraud prevention, and data management for financial institutions, enterprises, SMEs, and consumers. With extensive API integrations and intelligent routing, the platform ensures high success rates and reliability,” explains Reddy.

Equal also recently acquired a stake in OneMoney to enhance consent-driven financial data sharing, giving users greater control over their personal data while enabling institutions to make informed decisions. OneMoney is an account aggregator owned by FinSec AA Solutions India Private Limited, and licensed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

USP

According to the founders, what sets Equal apart is its ability to integrate both identity verification and consent-driven financial data sharing on a single platform. 

It streamlines critical processes across multiple industries. In lending and credit, it enables instant borrower verification, significantly reducing loan approval times. For employment and the gig economy, it automates background checks, making hiring faster and more reliable. 

In the insurance sector, Equal simplifies KYC, accelerates claims processing, and optimises underwriting. It also enhances access to essential services in healthcare and financial inclusion by providing secure, consent-driven data sharing. 

“Our plug-and-play architecture ensures effortless adoption for enterprises, all while staying fully compliant with India’s evolving data protection regulations,” adds Reddy.

However, Equal is not alone in the space. The startup competes with eMudhra Limited, IDfy, Signzy, AuthBridge and Syntizen.

Speaking about challenges, Reddy says, “It took us two years to achieve PMF. We tested multiple industries before realising that financial services and compliance-driven sectors had the highest demand for verified data-sharing solutions.”

Business model and traction 

The global market for digital identity solutions is set for significant growth, with a CAGR of 21.2% from 2025–2031. Valued at $41.63 billion in 2024, it is expected to reach $159.93 billion by 2031.

Equal follows a per-transaction pricing model, working with financial institutions, fintechs, insurers, and large enterprises that depend on verified data for their operations. Pricing varies across industries, ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 200 per data type, depending on the scale and usage.

The startup, which claims to have processed millions of data transactions monthly, has some of the leading banks, NBFCs, and fintech companies as clients. 

“Our clients include both established financial giants and fast-growing startups that rely on Equal’s infrastructure to power their products,” says Reddy.

WeWork, Larsen & Toubro, and TVS are some of its prominent clients. They have 300 merchants on its platform.

Funding and the way ahead

With a $3 million initial investment from Reddy, the company raised $10 million in a Series A round in 2024 led by Prosus Ventures, Tomales Bay Capital, along with Reddy, at a post-money valuation of $80 million. 

During the funding round, the company had stated that it planned to use the funds to scale operations, establish strategic partnerships, and develop an integrated, secure, and transparent digital framework to enhance the data-sharing ecosystem in India.

“Equal is leading the transformation of identity verification and financial data sharing in India. Through its strategic investment in OneMoney, the company is harnessing India’s digital public infrastructure to create a secure, scalable platform that enables seamless and consent-driven data sharing. We strongly believe in Keshav's vision of advancing financial inclusion through cutting-edge technology and are excited to support Equal’s growth as it continues to drive this change,” said Apoorve Goyal, Managing Director, India Investments, Prosus, during the funding announcement.

By June 2025, Equal plans to expand into new financial verticals like insurance, banking, and onboarding, while enhancing its AI models for better risk assessment and fraud detection. Its focus remains on scaling financial data infrastructure and simplifying data exchange across industries, said Reddy.

“A key focus is developing an advanced AI-driven product that will redefine how businesses interact with and utilise financial data, introducing automation, intelligence, and next-level decision-making capabilities. With a vision to make data-sharing effortless, secure, and ubiquitous, Equal aims to power the future of financial services in India and beyond,” explains Reddy.