Indias Untapped Gold Loan Market Offers Good Business Prospects: Unimoni CEO

In a bold move to capitalize on the burgeoning gold loan market, Unimoni Financial Services aims to achieve a robust ₹1000 crore book by FY25, according to Krishnan R, Director and CEO of Unimoni India. This ambitious target marks a significant increase from their current ₹250 crore book, with a projected growth of ₹750 crore in the ongoing fiscal year, stated Krishnan R.Krishnan R emphasized the vast potential of the untapped gold loan market in India, citing that out of the available gold stock in the country, less than 10 per cent comes to the market for lending purpose, he said. The rising gold prices also augurs well for the market, he added. The company has come out with various schemes to woo customers for availing gold loans by introducing women friendly schemes, long term bridge loans for households etc. It intends to open 100 more branches from the existing 311 spread across South India and 3 union territories. Unimoni, which is celebrating 25 years of operations in India, is pinning greater hopes on its foreign exchange, travel and holidays business which is expected to mop additional revenue at a time when India’s growth story looks bullish across sectors, he said. “In this digital era, our strategy is phygital model to improve our reach. By using innovative technology, we are in the process of developing an online platform (www.remitforex.com) for the remittance and Forex business. With the backup of technology, we are aiming for a seamless flow of transactions in the outward remittance space in the next financial year in addition to the network expansion,” Krishnan R said.

On the remittance business, the CEO said, “We are positioned as one of the leading AD-II (Authorised Dealers) entities in the country, facilitating transactions surpassing $750 million annually and generating a revenue of $14 million in this fiscal year. Our strategic objective for FY25 is to aim for a 30 per cent growth trajectory.”

On the challenges to the remittance business, Krishnan said that the highly regulated nature of foreign exchange business processes such as customer on-boarding, settlement procedures and adherence to sanctions hold paramount importance. Addressing these challenges, he said India has earned support from numerous WTO members including the EU for its proposal aimed at reducing the cross-border remittances and facilitating real time settlement, thereby enhancing seamless payment processes for end users. The new FEMA guidelines which is expected to roll out in the next financial year will become a game changer in the remittance business. Also, the proposal of the RBI to allow AD category II entities to additionally facilitate trade-related transactions up to a value of ₹15 lakh per transaction will give more backup and courage to the leading AD II to expand business to the next level, he added. About Unimoni Financial Services Ltd: Unimoni Financial Services Ltd has emerged as a trusted pioneer in the financial sector, offering a wide range of services – Foreign Exchange, Travel & Holidays, Gold Loan, Inward Money Transfer, Send Money Abroad, Unimoni Wallet and Insurance. With 300 plus branches and numerous subagent locations across India, Unimoni is dedicated in delivering convenient and reliable financial solutions to customers nationwide.