India neobank Fi completes banking services on its platform

India neobank Fi is abandoning banking services on its platform four years after launching it in partnership with Federal Bank, streamlining customers’ access to their savings accounts through the bank’s mobile app while reducing Fi’s features.

Established in 2019 by former managers of Google Pay India Sujith Narayanan and Sumit Gwalani, Fi he started its app-based banking service partnered with Federal Bank in 2021 to offer digital savings accounts and money management tools aimed at young users. The Bengaluru-based startup claims to have served over 3.5 million customers and completed over a billion transactions through its platform. It counts investors including Ribbit Capital, B Capital, Alpha Wave Global, and Sequoia Capital India, which emerged as Peak XV Partners in 2023.

However, this week, customers who opened accounts through the Fi app received an email saying that banking services on the platform will soon be discontinued. The fintech said customers’ accounts with Federal Bank will remain active and should be accessible through the bank’s mobile banking app, FedMobile.

“Banking services on the Fi app will be terminated soon; however, your Savings Account with Federal Bank remains active and fully functional. Your funds remain safe and always available,” the company said in an email, reviewed by TechCrunch.

In another email, Federal Bank told customers that its partnership with Fi is ending as part of a “business restructuring,” advising them to access their accounts through their digital channels.

“Our agreement with Fi is ending. Your account remains the same and the only way to access it is changing,” the bank said in an email.

Fi was competing with the likes of Jupiter, Open, and Slice. The startup has raised nearly $169 million across five rounds, on Tracxn.

While the startup is leaving its core business, the company has indicated that this is not a complete shutdown. Last month, co-founder of Fi Narayanan he said in the profile of LinkedIn that the company is planning its way of thinking about building “deep technology” and intelligent systems for startups and large enterprises, adding that some things will sunset as part of the change.

“We asked where we do our most powerful work, and where we can build something that lasts. The answers pointed in one direction – deep technology, AI, and building complex systems for startups and large enterprises,” wrote Narayanan.

TechCrunch independently confirmed that new users can no longer open savings accounts through the Fi app, which now displays a message saying that this option is no longer available. However, Fi did not respond to a request for comment on its organizational changes and future plans. Federal Bank also did not respond to requests for comment.