ICICI Bank has announced the launch of the ‘iStartup2.0’ program for Indian startups that take care of their banking as well as beyond banking needs such as regulatory assistance, analytics, staffing, accounting, customer acquisition, and digital outreach to customers, among others.
The bank on Thursday said, “iStartup2.0’ offers customers an eponymous Current Account, which is available in three variants – Gold – Platinum – Silver – the widest range by any bank for start-ups. New businesses (up to 10 years old) including partnerships, private and public limited companies as well as limited liability partnerships can opt for the Current Account.”
“Further, startups can seamlessly open an account and get the account number instantly at the time of incorporation as the Bank has integrated its APIs with the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA),” the statement said.
“It offers significant convenience to founders/entrepreneurs as it saves time and effort since they don’t have to fill details again to apply for an account. As a further convenience, the Bank sends an official to startups at a time of their choice to verify the original documents for KYC,” the statement added.
Speaking on the launch, Pankaj Gadgil, Head of Self Employment Segment, ICICI Bank said, “The MSME & self-employed segment in India is the backbone of the economy. Within this, we foresee that the startup segment in the country is poised for rapid growth with favorable regulations in the ecosystem and the high spirit of entrepreneurship. We believe that ‘startup 2.0’ is the most comprehensive program available in the country. It offers the unprecedented convenience of getting onboard with us instantly in a digital manner during incorporation with MCA. It undertakes all business, trade, and personal banking requirements within this one relationship and transacts digitally using the robust mobile and internet banking platforms on-the-go.”
“Our research shows that startups also need immense hand-holding initially for other areas of business like website development, digital marketing, staffing solutions, regulatory and tax solutions, and accounting. Armed with this insight, we have tied up with companies who are leaders in their fields to offer services under ‘Startup Assist’. It provides a ‘one-stop-shop’ for nearly all the early stages as well as the growth stage needs of a startup. We believe that this ‘all-in-one’ and comprehensive iStartup2.0 program will provide easy banking and beyond- banking services to startups, free up their bandwidth from paper-intensive procedures and thus boost their business growth by improving overall productivity and efficiency,” Pankaj said.
Banking features:
- Access to state-of-the-art ‘InstaBIZ’ mobile application: With over 150 services, this comprehensive mobile app enables businesses to complete almost all their banking transactions digitally, without visiting a bank branch. It offers many industries features, namely instant payment of GST, easy bulk collection & payment of funds through multiple modes, automatic bank reconciliation, and inward/outward remittances among others.
- Availability of Corporate Internet Banking platform and Trade Online, a specialized digital platform for export-import transactions.
- Automatic bank reconciliation feature via ‘Connected Banking’ with over 40 popular accounting / ERP platforms.
- Business debit card and FD backed business credit cards.
- Preferential pricing on ‘Loan Against Securities’ and ‘Overdraft facility against Fixed Deposit’.
- Zero processing fee and commitment charges on Fixed Deposits / Overdrafts.
- Group Health & Personal Accident cover.
‘Beyond Banking’ features with ‘Startup Assist’:
- Start-up set-up concierge: Specially curated to assist startups in a set-up stage. Offers single-point service to startups at a special discounted price for ICICI Bank customers. They can get access to services like company registration, taxation, compliance, logistics, facility management among others through a dedicated concierge helpline or via an app or an email.
- Digital concierge: Useful for start-ups wanting to expand a digital business. It offers a one-stop solution ranging from website development & hosting, social media marketing, SEO & SEM among others. The digital packages come with a host of benefits for ICICI Bank customers at an exclusive discounted price offered by a partner through a dedicated helpdesk & mobile app.
- Additional offers: For attractive discounts on solutions for ‘Work-From-Home’, the IT hardware package deals with the purchase of laptops consisting of free accessories like printer, hard disk & monitor. Also offers exclusive packages at an attractive price for ICICI Bank customers with leading accounting software, website hosting companies, and cloud services among others. Further, they also get exclusive packages for advertising with a leading online streaming network with complimentary additional advertising value.