UDMATech

About UDMATech

UDMA Technologies Private Limited, operating under the brand name Yuva Pay, is a fintech company founded in 2016 by Prashanth B. and Roshan Crasto. The company was born from a direct experience of its founder, Prashanth, who faced challenges making an online payment for a cab in an area with no internet connectivity. This personal pain point, coupled with observing similar struggles among friends and family in making reliable digital payments, led to the development of a prototype for offline financial transactions. Prashanth B., the CEO, brings a background in product management and finance, having worked at Manipal Group, TCS, and EXL services, and holds a PG MBA in Finance. CTO Roshan Crasto has over 15 years of IT experience, primarily with the Manipal Group, and holds an MCA and an MBA from Manipal University.

The firm addresses a critical gap in the digital payments landscape, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas of India where internet connectivity is unreliable or non-existent. UDMA Tech has developed a proprietary, patent-pending payment solution that enables financial transactions without an active internet connection, supporting both smartphones and feature phones. The technology functions by converting transaction data into an encrypted SMS, which completes the payment process in offline mode. For feature phones, the system utilizes interactive voice technology in vernacular languages to facilitate ease of use. This core offering targets the large segment of the population that is currently unbanked or underbanked, aiming to drive financial inclusion.

The company's business model involves providing its technology as a white-label solution to financial institutions and partnering with government bodies to digitize collections at the local level. UDMA has established partnerships with Yes Bank and ICICI Bank and has initiated pilot projects with gram panchayats (village councils) in Karnataka to shift cash collections to digital. By enabling digital transactions, the company gathers data on user spending behavior, creating opportunities to offer additional financial products like micro-lending, instant savings accounts, and small insurance policies. Since its first funding round on June 2, 2018, UDMA Technologies has raised a total of $1.62 million over seven rounds from investors including Incisive Ventures, Expert DOJO, and Mainstage Incubator, reaching a post-money valuation of ₹133 crore as of October 2021.