Niyo, India’s fastest-growing consumer-facing banking-tech platform, has announced its second employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to reward its employees for contributing to the company’s rapid growth. Founded in 2015, Niyo offers digital savings accounts and other banking services in partnership with banks. It currently serves over 5 million customers across its banking and wealth management products, with over 10,000 new users added daily to its platform.

The buyback announcement comes at a time of tough market conditions and demonstrates Niyo’s confidence in its business growth and also reflects its commitment to consistent wealth creation for its employees. Niyo has a staff strength of 500 and the buyback plan will cover a majority of its employees with a vintage period of over two years and good performance ratings across the last few years. Earlier in April '22, Niyo granted about Rs. 40 crores of ESOP value to its employees in its annual appraisal.

Vinay Bagri, Co-founder & CEO, Niyo said, "We have doubled our business volume over the last year and have created a formidable brand. The growth is a testimony of the hard work demonstrated by our team members. We have always been an employee-centric company that believes in giving a sense of ownership to our employees. The second ESOP buyback plan is our humble effort to convey our gratitude to the team that has stayed with us.”

The year has been eventful for Niyo. Despite the funding winter, Niyo raised $100 million in a Series-C round led by US-headquartered Accel and London-headquartered Lightrock India. In July, Niyo raised $30 million from Multiples, a BFSI-focused private equity firm. The company also announced its foray into credit cards and insurance.

Jagadish B, Head of Human Resources, Niyo said, "In the last few months, the company has seen significant improvement in all the business KPIs because of the collective conviction and the contribution of the entire team that continued to work relentlessly towards customer excellence and business efficiency. We are grateful to be in a strong position in the current market despite an uncertain macro environment and are committed to creating more such opportunities for our employees in the near future."