K-Content News

Korean Startup ‘Balance Hero’ Enters the Indian Mobile Market

There is a domestic startup that has emerged as a dark horse in the Indian mobile fintech market. It is ‘Balance Hero’, a fintech startup that was founded in 2014. Balance Hero launched a mobile balance checking, filling and data management app called ‘True Balance’ in India. True Balance recorded 60 million downloads this year and also received a total investment of KRW 45 billion, showing how it has been recognized for its marketability. It was also selected in the Google Play Store App Starter Kit (group of top apps used in a country).

Balance Hero is focused on the Indian mobile wallet market, which is growing rapidly. Lee Cheol-won, the founder of Balance Hero, came up with this business idea after learning that 90% of all mobile phone users in India prepay their communication bills. He created the True Balance app, which shows payment information such as data usage. True Balance shows the remaining data and free call time for prepaid plan users. Young Indians were the first to respond positively to this convenient app, as it could solve the inconveniences of smartphone users in India who have to continuously charge and check their balance. True Balance, which was launched in 2014, currently has more than 60 million downloads and over 10 million actual users. Various venture capital companies have recognized the growth potential of Balance Hero in the Indian market and made huge investments. Last year, six companies including Softbank Ventures, IMM Investment, and Mega Investment invested KRW 15 billion. The total investment accrued so far is approximately KRW 45 billion. As well, True Balance became the first Korean company to earn a PPI (prepaid payment instruments) license from the Central Bank of India. Through this, Balance Hero, which launched wallet services, now offers financial services such as one-click charging and payment of electricity, water, DTH (satellite broadcast), and utilities, equivalent to that of banks.

Indian market targeted during the startup design stage

When Balance Hero was founded in 2014, the Indian smartphone market was in its initial growth stage. The smartphone distribution rate skyrocketed. When the True Balance app was officially launched, there were about 15 million new smartphone users every month. It is estimated that there are currently more than 1 billion mobile phone subscribers in India, and over 200 million of them are smartphone users. Mobile services that spread quickly among smartphone users not only are contributing to the currently weak financial infrastructure, but are also driving economic growth in India.

True Balance is especially popular among youths between the ages of 17 and 24 living in small and medium-sized cities in India. The secret to its popularity is that it has pursued development and network marketing customized to local users in India. Data checking apps made by local communications companies require the use of data and do not show the balance. Meanwhile, True Balance was made to show balance information, etc. in real-time, without using data. It also shows a balance message through an infographic. Special care was taken to enhance the convenience of the UI design so that the user can easily check data usage at a glance. The ‘Friend Recommendation Reward System’ that started last year also was popular. When a friend is recommended to install the app and join the service, 10 rupees (app. KRW 170) is given to both the recommender and the new subscriber. This is equivalent to about a 30 minute voice call. This strategy became popular among youths, who are particularly sensitive to communications costs. Downloads grew explosively as users introduced this to each other. Balance Hero stays close to the characteristics of its user base, and its marketing strategies focus on this. Right from the start, it targeted users who did not have online banking. Similarly, True Balance advanced its network marketing to fit the user characteristics that they targeted based on data analysis, and was able to gather many users together with the rapid growth of the market. As a result, True Balance holds an unparalleled lead within India in its segment of the market. CEO Lee explained, “Balance Hero will act as a gateway that offers mobile financial services to most of the 1 billion Indian users who are non-bank users; in other words, those who do not have digital financial transactions available to them.”

Expanding business through small finances such as insurance and loans… Will be reborn as a financial platform

With its base of over 10 million active users, Balance Hero recently began expanding its field of business to fintech. Starting with the electronic payment business approval from the Indian government in July of 2017, it added mobile wallet functions to the True Balance app. Electronic wallet services is a field that is growing quickly in the Indian mobile market. In the past year, over 40 different electronic wallet services were pumped out. Users who added the mobile app can use True Balance like a bank account. Using the True Balance app, which is similar to KakaoPay, users can wire money, withdraw or deposit money, or charge up communication fees. It is also working with a local loan business in India with plans to add small loan functions.

Balance Hero aims to increase the number of True Balance subscribers to about 100 million people and to achieve early dominance in the Indian fintech market using a range of easy mobile payment services. The corporate vision for Balance Hero is to provide solutions that will enable it to efficiently manage wireless communication fees not only in India, but also in other countries with low-specification communication infrastructure in Southeast Asia, etc. to create a world in which people can communicate at a reasonable cost. CEO Lee Cheol-won said, “Just as Alipay dominated the mobile payment market in China, we aim at achieving early dominance in the mobile fintech market in new markets in India and Southeast Asia.”

Seo Mi-hee│Guest Reporter│hee@khu.ac.kr