Travel fintech firm Scapia raises $9 mn for operations, tech capability

Start-up converts customers' everyday expenses into travel rewards stored in a co-branded card

Scapia, a travel fintech company, said on Wednesday it had raised $9 million in a seed round to fund operations and improve technological capability.

Matrix Partners India led the funding round with the participation of Tanglin Venture Partners, Binny Bansal’s 3STATE Ventures and angel investors that include Keki Mistry, chief executive officer of HDFC Ltd.

“Millennials, with their considerable interest in travel, are looking for a primary card that can effectively reward them with travel benefits and perks. In addition, they want an app with transparency and service that they can trust. We see an opportunity for Scapia—less than 5 per cent of the population currently have credit cards and India is projected to have 200 million credit cards in circulation by 2030,” said Anil Goteti, the company’s founder.

Scapia converts a customer’s everyday expenses into travel rewards stored in a co-branded card launched in partnership with the Federal Bank.

The card, which operates on the Visa network, offers a 10 per cent reward on every transaction, minting these into Scapia coins.

The Bengaluru-based fintech enables customers to redeem the coins for flights and hotel bookings. The company has payment options such as ‘travel now, pay later’.  

It provides rewards, including a zero-forex markup, domestic lounge access, zero joining and annual fees.