Our tech stack has played a crucial role in scaling Jar’s consumer base, with Kotlin Multiplatform (KMM) being a standout innovation.
This is an exclusive interview series conducted by Santosh Vaswani, Journalist & Editor at CIO News with Nishchay Ag, Co-founder and CEO of Jar.
How has the journey been for Jar, from a 6 million user base to a company with 20 million users?
Jar was founded in 2021 by Misbah and me during the first wave of COVID-19, with the vision of empowering individuals to cultivate the habit of saving and achieve financial independence. From humble beginnings, our platform has grown exponentially, striking a chord with over 20 million users today. Our innovative approach to savings, combined with a user-friendly interface and modern design, has been pivotal in attracting a vast user base. By leveraging two widely adopted financial tools in India—UPI and gold—we’ve significantly lowered the barriers to entry in the world of savings and investing. This approach has simplified the savings journey for customers, allowing them to save easily and efficiently.
In FY22, Jar had a little over 6 million users. This number grew to over 14 million in FY 23, and as we entered FY 24, we celebrated reaching the milestone of 20 million users. The product resonates with so many Indian users who want to do more with their money, and we take a lot of confidence in that fact.
From addressing the high entry barriers in traditional financial products to providing accurate personal finance information, our focus has always been on putting the customer first. As we move forward, we plan to expand our offerings to include lending, investments, and more to meet the needs of our ever-growing user base. Jar’s journey from 6 million to 20 million users has been a testament to our commitment to financial inclusion and innovation. We have taken great care to ensure consistency in the quality of our customer experience, as well as the products we offer, and we will continue to personalize even further for the next 20 million customers.
Can you highlight some of the challenges you faced in changing consumer behaviour and building trust for investing in Jar?
We have created a category of our own and faced significant challenges in our journey to change consumer behaviour and build trust in Jar. Our mission has always been to help people achieve financial independence, but transitioning from a 100% cash economy to a digital, cashless one required overcoming several obstacles.
One primary challenge was addressing the gap in the market for financial products that cater to the common man. Existing products were primarily in English and focused on equity markets and mutual funds, which many people did not understand or trust. This highlighted the need for a simple savings platform using a familiar and trusted asset class—gold.
COVID-19 underscored the importance of financial management, yet many people were not managing their finances effectively. Existing financial products were not reaching “real India,” especially in non-metropolitan cities and rural areas. We saw this as an opportunity to bridge the gap and provide accessible financial services to everyone.
To build trust and change consumer behaviour, we focused on financial inclusion and education. We invested heavily in creating content to educate users about maintaining a healthy relationship with money and the importance of regular savings. Currently, we produce content in seven languages—Hindi, English, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, and Malayalam—with plans to expand further. This approach has resonated well with our consumers.
We also recognized the cultural and symbolic value of gold in India. When users saved significantly in gold, it made sense to offer jewellery as a tangible reward. This move has been well received, as people save for various goals, from retirement to purchasing homes and vacations. By focusing on inclusivity and accessibility, we have made significant strides in helping people across India achieve financial wellness and build wealth.
What role did the tech stack play in scaling the consumer base over the years, and how are you using emerging technologies like AI and ML to build your business?
Our tech stack has played a crucial role in scaling Jar’s consumer base, with Kotlin Multiplatform (KMM) being a standout innovation. By enabling us to write core logic once and share it seamlessly across iOS and Android platforms, KMM has significantly reduced our development costs by 30–40% and ensured feature parity across both operating systems. This efficiency has been instrumental in simplifying India’s financial fitness journey, making our app more accessible and user-friendly.
By continuously upgrading partner architectures and leveraging advancements from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), we have enhanced UPI infrastructure and bank integrations for a reliable user experience. Internally, our in-house digital gold stack and integration with multiple payment partners have been key to our rapid growth. We addressed critical factors such as device fragmentation, network variability, and service reliability. By optimizing API designs and memory management, we ensure seamless user experiences across diverse network conditions and device configurations.
Additionally, we harness AI and ML for SMS categorization, enhancing user engagement and operational efficiency. The adoption of these emerging technologies has significantly helped us scale our consumer base and build our business, enhancing user engagement, operational efficiency, and service reliability.
What are some of the differentiating factors that keep Jar ahead in the fintech sector?
At Jar, our differentiation in the fintech sector stems from our approach to financial empowerment and inclusive growth. We have created a new category focused on fostering financial upward mobility across India, transcending geographical barriers with users in over 9000+ PIN codes. Unlike traditional distinctions between Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 cities, we embrace all users equally, reflecting our commitment to accessibility and inclusion.
Beyond mere transactional tools, we employ behavioural economics to instill a habit of saving, enhancing financial resilience and empowerment. Our seamless investment journey, starting in just 45 seconds with as little as ₹10 in 24K pure digital gold, exemplifies our commitment to simplicity and accessibility.
Moreover, our innovative features like the digital piggy bank-like round-off method and UPI 2.0 mandates for daily savings illustrate our dedication to user-centric solutions. Through interactive flows and gamified engagement, we guide users towards better financial habits, resulting in substantial savings growth over time. These tools not only encourage daily saving habits but also enhance financial awareness and discipline.
Can you elaborate on some of the technological innovations or advancements that have been instrumental in enhancing your platform’s efficiency and user experience?
At Jar, we’ve leveraged cutting-edge technology to enhance our platform’s efficiency and user-friendliness. Our backend, powered by Spring Boot with Java, ensures reliable performance and seamless scalability. We manage data seamlessly with MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and DynamoDB, ensuring smooth operations and delivering lightning-fast user experiences through intelligent caching.
We’ve integrated the UPI 2.0 framework for effortless daily transactions and employed robotic process automation for automated investments, enhancing our efficiency. Kotlin Multiplatform (KMM) has been pivotal, allowing us to write code once in Kotlin and deploy it across iOS and Android platforms, saving time and resources while ensuring a consistent user experience.
Our goal is to simplify investing. With just ₹10 in 24K digital gold, you can start saving in 45 seconds using our intuitive app features. We’ve also gamified saving to foster healthy financial habits, enabling users to save more effectively over time. These innovations aim to make financial fitness accessible to all in India, empowering users to manage their money and build a better future.
With Jar’s presence in over 9000+ pin codes, what are your plans to reach newer geographies, given that gold is a preferred medium for a majority of Indians?
Expanding into new geographies is a key focus for Jar as we continue to leverage the popularity of gold and digital financial tools across India. With our presence already established in over 9000+ PIN codes, we plan to deepen our reach by integrating UPI and digital gold investments, which resonate deeply with Indian savers. Gold remains a preferred investment choice nationwide, particularly among diverse demographics, including young investors increasingly drawn to digital gold.
Our strategy involves expanding beyond our current footprint by tapping into local preferences and cultural affinities, ensuring our services meet the unique financial needs of each region. This includes plans to introduce comprehensive financial solutions encompassing lending, diversified investments, and more. By addressing these needs and leveraging digitalization trends, we aim to foster financial inclusion and empower users across all segments of society, driving further growth and accessibility nationwide.
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