SAVii Asia: PH Startup Offering Wellness and Financial Empowerment

SAVii Asia (formerly Uploan PH), is a fintech startup that was established in 2017 with the primary goal of granting employees better access to safer and more affordable lending solutions. Since it entered the industry, the firm has financially empowered more than 400,000 workers across the country while protecting them from unreliable lenders.

“Employee well-being is threatened by financial demands heightened by the pandemic. We are a platform that delivers financial services to employees that other formal financial institutions are unable to service,” explained SAVii CEO and founder Liam Grealish, noting that a revolution in employee behavior toward financial products is already approaching.

Through its platform, SAVii offers employees financial education, financial services, and mental health awareness training to help in building up their well-being. “This builds a resilient workforce that could maintain focus and engagement that redounds to the benefit of business,” Grealish elaborated. Additionally, SAVii provides its clients with a more convenient consumer experience, particularly as it allows employees to receive these benefits directly — which are deducted from their salaries — from their employers as opposed to looking for outside suppliers.

An earlier survey conducted by the startup covering 10,000 employees found that 90% of working Filipinos would opt for having access to financial products through salary deduction. Before SAVii was established, it was likewise reported that 40% of employees were unable to access financial products through salary deduction. However, this figure has since been reduced to 18%, according to a spokesperson from the company.

SAVii Asia’s founders were prompted to create the startup in an effort to simplify salary loans as well as provide emergency financing services for professionals who were not eligible for bank loans. In 2017, it was noted that bank-issued active loans in the country only accounted for 3% and predatory lenders were widespread — issues that the firm hoped to address.

The company later transitioned to become an employee-wellness platform at the outbreak of the global pandemic, as companies were driven to take better care of their employees while the workforce was faced with financial stress. In this light, SAVii’s team expanded its services to offer COVID-19 insurance, mental health support, and more detailed financial education to business process outsourcing (BPO) companies as well as other large enterprises.

Throughout the pandemic, the fintech startup has since been able to double its customer base and become a category leader. Employees have been provided with more reliable access to the financial power of their salaries and companies, on the other hand, are experiencing better employee engagement and loyalty. The innovative platform has provided — and continues to provide — assistance to countless employees across the Philippines through salary-linked finance.

Source: Manila Times