Rituparna Chatterjee – Mumbai
Fxkart.com, an online aggregator of foreign exchange dealers in India, is looking at expanding its dealership network from 25 to 100 and enhancing its IT infrastructure by end of 2015. A seed capital of US$ two million has been generated to support this expansion. Fxkart.com, which started operations early this year, is a UAE based free zone company with its headquarters in Bengaluru. Elaborating on the expansion plan, Abdul Hadi Shaikh, CEO, Fxkart.com opined, “Presently, we have 25 dealers in our network and it is a mix of big players with 100 plus branches pan India and small ones with single stores. We not only have a strong presence in cities with international airports but also have tie-ups with dealers who have branches in Tier III and IV cities. In the past seven weeks of our operation, we got 500 customers and generated a turnover of Rs three crore. But now we are looking at widening our reach by expanding our dealership network and IT infrastructure.” The company’s dealership network includes companies Akbar Travels, Centrum, Orient Exchange, to name a few.
As per RBI report, US$ 35 billion were exchanged in 2014 in the retail sector. This includes foreigners travelling to India and Indians going abroad. When asked about the foreign exchange market in India, Dr Mushtaq Shah, founder, Fxkart.com stated, “The market is efficient than the West since Indians are price sensitive and there are more players. However, it is segmented and the internet is a good platform for aggregating the dealers and helping travellers discover best prices. Such platforms are viable in Asian countries where there is a vibrant travelling middle class.” He went on to add that the company will look for a strategic investor upon achieving its revenue target in the next six to nine months. However, Dr Shah declined to share the revenue target figures.
Meanwhile, the company recently launched its Forex booking mobile app, which showcases more than 500 dealer locations across the country.