Mutual funds are the latest innovation in private savings. However, a rural investor perhaps wants to invest a lower amount as savings according to his convenience. Online platforms are increasingly making this easier. In order to attract investors and customers to purchase Mutual Funds (MF’s), the investment amount for a single mutual fund has been brought down to as low as Rs 100/- versus the earlier minimum amount of investing into a fund that ranged between Rs 500/- to Rs 5000/- which was considered to be high for customers in the rural segment.

With a lower commitment to investments, the Mutual Fund Industry is likely to boom with this reduction in investment scheme and is expected to surpass the previous figure of 9.46 lakh SIP (systematic investment plan) in the year 2018-19. The average SIP size earlier was about Rs 3150 according to the AMFI but now with reduction in minimum ticket size to 100, the addition is likely to accelerate in the coming months.

A farmer earning minimum wages in a rural setting would prefer a lower investment threshold which gives him the freedom to invest without a high commitment and flexibility to increase or decrease his savings as per his income. The current reduction in the investment sum in MF’s has made it accessible for this untapped audience to purchase a share of a fund at the lowest price.

Payworld, the largest assisted wallet service provider in India, currently has a retailer network of around 2,00,000 retailers spread across 630 Districts in India. Payworld operates with the objective of providing financial service like loans, money remittances, insurances, air/train ticketing, recharges, AEPS and many more to the an audience which prefers more flexibility in their savings due to a lower income bracket.

With a strong focus on ‘simplifying lives’, The E-wallet giants offer small ticket size mutual funds in form of sachets to the untapped audience. This minimum ticket size has given the rural audience, the additional purchasing power to invest in a mutual fund, a possibility deemed difficult earlier.

Payworld, with its emerging fintech innovation, has brought people closer to investment options, unavailable to them earlier. The Payworld Retailer makes it easier for anyone under any kind of income bracket, to be able to secure their future through better investment options with the lowest commitment.

The author is the Chief Operating Officer, Payworld