Fampay, a fintech start-up targeting teenagers, has faced challenges in recent weeks. The company has experienced the departures of key employees and has also let go of some staff as part of cost-cutting measures to extend its runway, as reported by Entrackr.
Among those who have left the company are Shobhit Gupta, who served as the head of engineering, Brijesh Bhardwaj, responsible for product and growth and Fatema Raja, who was part of the design team. Additionally, Fampay has reportedly terminated approximately 50 employees in an effort to reduce expenses.
However, Fampay's co-founder and CEO (chief executive officer), Sambhav Jain, has denied the reports, stating that "…we had to let go of less than 10 people across all levels in the overall company due to team restructuring."
Fampay had secured a Series A funding of $38 million nearly two years ago, making it one of the largest financings for an Indian start-up. However, the company has not raised any further funds since then. So far, Fampay has raised a total of approximately $42.7 million from investors such as Elevation Capital, Sequoia Capital, Venture Highway, Y Combinator, Greenoaks Capital, Kunal Shah and Amrish Rau, among others.
Sources have revealed that Fampay has been seeking to raise new funding, but discussions have not yet materialised. Another source has claimed that the company has also been exploring opportunities for mergers and acquisitions. However, Jain has vehemently denied these claims, stating, "We haven't been out in the market to raise and never engaged with anyone for M&A."
Fampay functions as a neobank, allowing teenagers to make online and offline payments, including through UPI and P2P transactions, without needing a bank account.
According to its annual financial statement filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), during the financial year 2021-2022, the company recorded operating revenue of Rs 3 crore (approximately £300,000), while its expenses exceeded Rs 50 crore (approximately £5 million). During the same period, Fampay incurred a loss of Rs 43.3 crore (approximately £4.3 million).