Spice Money – Make Money By Providing Financial Services

India is a developing nation. More than 20% of Indians live below the poverty line.

Financial inclusion is a key enabler to reduce poverty and increase prosperity. As of 2020, more than 19 crore Indians do not even have a bank account.

So how can people in rural India make money while helping their fellow Indians?

Spice Money offers one such solution.

What is Spice Money?

Spice Money, a Noida headquartered company, is a hyper-local payments network. Started in 2012, Spice Money employs 500+ people.

Spice Money offers various services through which you can earn up to Rs 50,000 per month.

Unlike companies that offer MLM schemes, Spice Money is a legitimate business. You make money through commissions.

Think of mobile recharge or travel agency business, only broader in scope.

What Business Opportunities Does Spice Money Offer?

You can offer a variety of services to your customers and earn commissions for each transaction.

Spice Money supports the following services.

#1: Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS)

Using a fingerprint scanner and Aadhaar number, you can offer banking services like cash withdrawal and balance enquiry.

Consumer Alternative Available: Almost all UPI apps like BHIM, PhonePe, PayTm, Google Pay, along with bank apps, lets you check account balance.

Note: The fingerprint scanner needs to be purchased separately from Spice Money.

#2: Domestic Money Transfer

You can help your customers transfer money to any domestic account. The maximum limit is Rs 50,000 per sender per month.

Consumer Alternative Available: Any of the UPI apps or bank apps/websites.

Note: International money transfers are not allowed through Spice Money.

#3: Cash Withdrawal (Mini ATM)

You can offer ATM services from your shop. Once a customer swipes a debit card on the Spice Money POS, you can provide them cash.

Consumer Alternative Available: PhonePe lets users connect with nearby merchants and withdraw money.

Note: This functionality is not unique to Spice Money. RBI has allowed all banks to enable cash withdrawal from POS. However, most merchants do not prefer this option. Revenues from Cash@POS are low, and their accounts for tax purposes become more complicated.

#4: Accept Payments from Customers (mPOS) and QR Code

This is aimed at retailers. You can let your customers pay you using a QR code or an mPOS machine by swiping their card.

Alternative Available: Most UPI apps let consumers transfer money to you using a QR code scanner.

#5: Mobile & DTH Recharge

You can offer mobile and DTH recharge services for your customers through Spice Money.

Consumer Alternative Available: UPI Apps, Mobile service providers, DTH providers, and bank web/mobile applications.

#6: Utility Bill Payment – Gas, Water, Internet, Electricity, Landline Phone

Utility bill payment is essential- no need for your customers to wait in the queue. Let them pay their essential bills through you.

Consumer Alternative Available: UPI applications. Good old waiting in line to pay the bills.

#7: Travel Ticketing – Train, Bus, and Flight Tickets

You can register as an IRCTC agent to book train tickets for your customers. Do your customers prefer a bus or flight? Spice money got that covered too.

Consumer Alternative Available: PhonePe, Paytm, Amazon Pay, travel aggregators like MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Cleartrip, etc.

#8: Hotel Booking

People going out of town and want a place to stay? Book accommodation for them through the Spice Money B2B portal.

Consumer Alternative Available: PhonePe, Paytm, hotel aggregators like MakeMyTrip, Agoda, Goibibo, Oyo, Booking.com, etc.

#9: PAN Card Services

You can offer new PAN card creation/modification services through the app.

Consumer Alternative Available: Apply directly online on the NSDL website.

Note: It’s illegal to hold multiple PAN cards. Make sure the request for PAN card creation is genuine.

#10: Online Shopping

Spice Money has tied up with Amazon to make shopping simpler for people in Tier 2 and 3 cities.

If your customers are not tech-savvy enough to order online, you can help them make the purchase for a commission.

Consumer Alternative Available: Shop directly on Amazon.

How to Become a Spice Money Agent?

You can sign up to be a spice money agent on their website.

Once you provide your details, the onboarding team will give you a call and process your application.

What Are The Fees?

To get the Spice Money ID, you will need to pay Rs 1,500 as a one-time and non-refundable fee.

Besides the one-time fee, you will need to pay a monthly fee of Rs 59 to retain the ID.

Verdict: Should You Become a Spice Money Agent?

That depends.

Spice Money offers genuine opportunities to earn money. However, I don’t think you can earn a full-time income from spice money.

Think of what happened to internet cafes.

Home internet and 3G/4G availability broke the business model of internet cafes.

If you download an app like PhonePe or Google Pay, everything you do with Spice Money can be done for free with these apps.

Additionally, people can earn extra cashback for doing transactions on their own.

As people start using more of these apps, why would they need an intermediary like you?

Recommendation: Use Spice Money to earn extra income from your existing business like a medical shop, travel booking office, bakery, etc. Don’t start a new business purely based on spice money.

How to Make More Money With Spice Money?

Spice Money helps you earn money through transactions. Every time people transact, you make money.

#1: Get Recurring Customers

To increase the money you make, aim for repeat customers.

Did you do an electricity recharge for a customer last month on the 4th? Note down the due date. Send them an SMS reminder or notify them in person the next time the due date is nearby.

Your goal should be for people to come to you regularly for bill payments, recharges, etc.

#2: Upsell Additional Products

Don’t forget to upsell to people who walk in.

You can upsell mobile accessories to people who walk in to make a mobile phone recharge.

How about selling LED bulbs to people who have higher electricity bills?

The good thing about Spice Money is that it can get customers regularly to your shop. The more frequent they come to you, the higher your chances of making additional sales.

FAQs