With over 16 years of operating experience, the F1Soft Group is one of the biggest technology companies in Nepal and a proven pioneer in fintech (financial technology). F1Soft has created an ecosystem of digital products and services, including the very first and the most popular eSewa and Fonepay services that started a digital revolution in the country.
Catering to growing the needs of Nepali customers, F1Soft has been facilitating consumers’ access to financial services and enabling their inclusion in the formal digital economy with a diversified portfolio of Digital Financial Services (DFS). A team of 700+ management and technology professionals, more than 10 years of research and innovations and thousands of clients, F1Soft is a major influencer of fintech services in the Nepali market.
Sunny Mahat for ApEx talks to Subash Sharma, CEO of F1Soft International Pvt. Ltd, about the growing opportunities of fintech services in Nepal and the effects of the pandemic.
How do you see the growth trajectory of fintech services, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic?
In the past year, especially after the pandemic, we have experienced an encouraging growth in digital payments. Our conventional way of conducting business has been disrupted. Every business has been looking to adapt to the new normal. People are actively looking at ways to continue and identify better ways to conduct their businesses.
This has created new opportunities for fintech companies to partner with businesses in multiple aspects. Our platforms, especially eSewa and Fonepay, have seen increased transactions that include bank-to-bank fund transfers, utility bill payments and QR payments.
But when you talk about fintech services and the industry, it is not limited to payments. F1Soft is looking to develop innovative products to target other aspects of financial services. Last year we launched Foneloan, a digital lending platform. This has already been launched with more than five banks. Customer interest in the product has been exciting. This shows our customer base is ready for multiple digital financial services. We as a company focused on fintech are looking to introduce multiple products based on customers’ interest and demands.
Like most technology companies in the country, does F1Soft also face the challenge of high employee turnover?
Yes, high employee turnover is a pressing issue among all technology companies in Nepal. Compared to the industry, we are better positioned to handle the impact. F1Soft is proud to say that our employee retention rate is one of the best in the industry. At F1Soft, we have been able to instill a sense of achievement in our employees and they are proud to see the impact their work has created in the country and the economy.
What could be done to stop the ‘brain drain’ of technology professionals?
‘Brain drain’ is a big issue not just for us but for almost all the developing economies. It is not necessary to always see this as a disadvantage. Often, we have seen people gathering experience and exposure on a bigger stage which can be a huge advantage back home if they ever decide to return or send projects or create partnerships between the local companies and their international business partners.
Stopping brain drain is not just an issue to be handled by individual companies but at the level of the national economy. If our economy can grow faster, we will create attractive opportunities for our young talents. This will definitely help us retain our talents.
What next for eSewa and Fonepay, both of which have had great success?
eSewa has been in the digital wallet and payment industry for the past 12 years. Compared to the days we started when there was no payment infrastructure, today we have a robust infrastructure for digital payments. eSewa is credited for taking the lead in this. Today, we have created an industry and there are multiple companies working in this space including the ones promoted by big business houses. Fonepay has entered the market at the right time to promote digital payments by creating a common network of banks/financial institutions and wallets, and by promoting interoperability.
Though we have already created a robust infrastructure, we have not been able to influence more than 5 percent of the transactions; 95 percent of the market is still untapped. Our immediate focus is to increase adoption and become more inclusive.
Do you think digital money will ever have a dominance over paper money in Nepal?
Honestly speaking, in an economy like ours, I don’t see digital payments completely replacing paper money in the near future. But what is certain is digital payments will continue to grow as they promote convenience and transparency. With the growing need for businesses to be more transparent and customers always looking for convenient ways to make payments, digital payment is on the way to becoming more preferred. If we observe current trends, we see digital payments becoming the dominant form of payment in five years. We see usage of cash decline for all forms of payments. The future is less-cash rather than completely cashless.
