Tartan launches Batik to enable financial and health wellness benefits for today's workforce

Fintech enabler Tartan which is democratising how today's workforce can exercise increased control over their income and employment data to access financial services has now forayed into bringing products and services directly to consumers who are employed and launched a new self-service employment benefits marketplace - 'BATIK' to empower organisations to support their employees' financial and health wellness. Having partnered with insurance companies, NBFCs and health care package providers, employees can now avail of Advance Salary, Personal Loans, Health & Term Life Insurance, Tax saving investment plans, Mutual funds, Expense cards, Gym membership, Gift cards and much more.   

As employee well-being becomes a critical priority for organisations today, one of the biggest expenses is leaning towards employment benefits as leadership always pushes for a holistic, integrated, interrelated approach. This entails taking care of your employee's physical, mental, and financial wellness especially in times like the upcoming downturn in the economy.

Today, health, wellness and financial independence are the most sought-after solutions. As per a study by SHRM in 2022, 88% of employers ranked health benefits as extremely important for their staff. Family care benefits follow this at 70% and financial wellness benefits at 46%."

Historically, companies used to enable the provision of getting a loan from a preferred bank or give membership to specific gym chains or arrange health check-ups or doctor consultations. However, the one size fits all approach does not work today; engagement for such benefits often end up being low due to differences in income patterns and designations etc. A modern way of accessing benefits is flexible programs that provide employees with the power of choice while ensuring that the compliance of spend is maintained. 

A flexible benefits program is getting extended in other use cases like learning and development, mental health counselling, and accessing a co-working space. 

Batik is a custom-curated, flexible-benefits platform; a one-stop shop that allows employers and human resource organisations to activate benefits that employees really need and want today. Employees can then choose discounted or concessionary products from various brands in categories like medical wellness, fitness, financial wellness and mental wellness, among others. Additionally, as we discuss financial wellness, we must recognise its direct impact on employee productivity, its contribution to company growth and its capacity to drive innovations.

"Improving the employee experience should be a top focus for every company right now," said Meet Semlani, Co-founder at Tartan. "Many organisations are now looking at options to provide employee benefits that are modern and flexible. The right mix of compensation and benefits is vital to the larger employees and financial wellness. For HR leaders, finding insurance coverage or a flexible perk for their people, given their budget limitations, can take much work. But to be a company that cares for its employees and supports them in times of emergency, including medical emergencies, is critical to creating a stress-free work environment brimming with productivity. With Batik, this gets easy to implement.”

With a simple sign-up and built-in payroll and Gmail integrations, organisations can enable employees to access various financial services to help them build up their financial health over time. For example, people can choose the best loan provider based on how much they earn, build savings, win gift cards, access free mental health counselling, and get fairer deals on products – like insurance and gym memberships – than they would have access to elsewhere at a higher price.

Currently, in its Beta phase for the past four months, Batik has successfully acquired an extensive customer base of more than 100 renowned organisations, serving 50,000+ employees with 40+ products and looking to add more perks like car leasing, tax saving solutions and flight bookings too.

Tartan, in the Pre-Series A funding round, has raised $4.5 million led by 500 Global, InfoEdge Ventures, AngelList Quant Fund, WorldQuant Ventures, Varanium GenNext Fund, 9 Unicorns, Yatra Angel Network, Emphasis Ventures, and Naveen Kukreja.

Tartan provides a data-to-distribution platform that seamlessly enables the movement of payroll data and products for today’s workforce. With their consent, financial institutions use Tartan’s API to access their customer’s data from their traditional or non-traditional HRMS system or payslip to fast-track income and employment verification, improve underwriting and build innovative new products. Its data-powered employee benefits marketplace allows employers and HRMS platforms to build and distribute innovative products which are much needed by workers today.