In a world where young Indians are travelling more boldly and managing their money more digitally than ever before, Scapia has begun to stand out as one of the new voices shaping this shift. At the centre of this movement is Anil Goteti, Founder and CEO of Scapia, who believes that the next phase of personal finance in India will be driven by intelligence, personalisation, and trust.

In an exclusive conversation with Fortune India, Goteti explains how Scapia is building a travel-first financial platform for a new generation of explorers. He speaks about the ideas behind the company’s fast-growing ecosystem, the fresh ways families are beginning to share credit and travel benefits, and why meaningful experiences are now becoming the heart of modern travel.

Excerpts:

Q. Can you give us an overview of Scapia and its ecosystem?

Anil: At Scapia, we are redefining how young Indians travel, pay, and prepare for their journeys. As a travel fintech company, we are built on a simple belief - that travel enriches lives and connects the world in meaningful ways.

Through our co-branded credit card with Federal Bank, Scapia seamlessly blends financial innovation with travel convenience. Accepted in 150+ countries, the Scapia–Federal Bank Credit Card offers zero joining and annual fees, zero forex markup, and more. It also gives access to exclusive airport privileges - a first in the Indian credit card industry, setting a new benchmark for travel-first financial products.

The Scapia App serves as a gateway to our comprehensive travel ecosystem, where users can instantly redeem Scapia Coins for flights, hotels, trains, buses, and visas. We have recently expanded this experience to include 5,000+ curated global tours and activities and the Scapia Store, featuring thousands of trip-ready essentials. With the Scapia Federal Add-On Card, travellers can now share these privileges and benefits with their loved ones.

In partnership with Federal Bank, we also launched India’s first RuPay co-branded credit card that integrates UPI, credit, and travel rewards - a pioneering convergence across the VISA and RuPay networks. Continuous innovations like smart train bookings and map-based hotel discovery further enhance the user experience.

Backed by leading investors including Peak XV, Elevation Capital, Z47, and 3STATE Capital, Scapia now reaches 7,500+ pincodes and is accepted by millions of merchants globally. Every feature we build reflects our mission - to empower a new generation of Indian travellers to explore the world with confidence, curiosity, and ease.

Q: What was the thinking behind introducing three verticals - Scapia Federal Add-on Credit Card, Scapia Experiences, and Scapia Store. How do they reflect Scapia’s idea of modern travel?

Anil: At Scapia, we have always believed that modern travel sits at the intersection of ease, comfort, value, and purpose. Indians today are travelling more than ever and expect flexibility, transparency, and personalisation at every step. Our ecosystem was built around that mindset - to make travel simpler, smarter, and more rewarding.

The Scapia Federal Add-On Credit Card was born from our community’s feedback - families and partners who wanted to share Scapia’s benefits with their loved ones. It’s designed to make travel more inclusive, allowing users to share credit, rewards, and privileges while maintaining individual control and transparency. This first-of-its-kind feature fills a significant gap in the Indian credit card space by giving add-on users real independence and visibility while keeping primary cardholders in full control.

With Scapia Experiences, we wanted to focus on the moments that truly define travel. For today’s generation - Gen Z and millennials, travel is an act of self-expression, and our goal is to make travel and experience discovery simpler and more meaningful. With over 5,000 curated tours and activities, powered by Generative AI and Smart Filters, Scapia Experiences helps travellers cut through decision fatigue and find what genuinely fits their interests, time, and budget - making discovery intuitive, personalised, and effortless.

The Scapia Store is a natural extension of that vision. Indians are exploring more destinations than ever, yet finding the right essentials for each trip remains a challenge. Scapia Store solves that by offering a single destination for high-quality, travel-ready products, curated for every journey.

Q: How is the Scapia Federal Add-on Credit card reimagining shared credit experience for Indian households - the way Indian families manage money and travel together?

Anil: The Scapia Federal Add-on Credit Card was born from a simple insight - users wanted to share the Scapia experience with their families, not just their credit limit.

Traditional add-on cards limit flexibility and visibility. With the Scapia Federal Add-on Credit Card, each user gets their own app, OTP, and transaction view, creating independence within shared credit.

Designed for modern, mobile-first families, it empowers partners, parents, and adult children to spend independently while enjoying shared rewards and travel benefits. The product blends transparency, control, and inclusion, redefining how Indian households manage money and travel together.

It’s part of our broader travel-first ecosystem, connecting payments, shopping, and experiences - making family travel simpler, smarter, and more rewarding.

Q: How do you see shared financial products, such as the add-on credit card, influencing the way Indian families manage money and travel together? How do you make sure Scapia cards are both aspirational and practical for everyday users?

Anil: At Scapia, we are building a travel-first financial platform around a very simple idea: your everyday spends should take you somewhere. Our zero-fee credit card converts every swipe into Scapia Coins - 5 coins to a rupee. Those coins unlock flights, stays, airport dining, shopping, spas, the Scapia Store, and 5,000+ curated Scapia Experiences across the world. From zero forex markup to a fully in-app journey - apply, manage, book, earn, redeem - we make the card as practical on a Monday morning as it is aspirational when you’re wheels-up for a holiday.

Shared financial products like the Scapia Federal add-on card - it is reshaping how Indian families spend, save, and experience travel together. With the add-on card, families share lounge access, airport privileges, and a common rewards pool - so benefits stop being individual perks and become a family asset. Whether it's everyday purchases compounding into a future trip or airport privileges that start the journey on a high, Scapia makes travel feel closer, more frequent, and more democratic for every household.

Q: How are you using data and insights from user travel behaviour to shape your product design and rewards?

Anil: At Scapia, every product decision starts with our users. We have built the platform by listening closely to how India travels - and how they want to travel. Every new feature is rooted in insights and real behaviour, not assumptions.

For instance, customers expressed a desire to share the Scapia experience and benefits with their loved ones, which led to the introduction of add-on cards that extend those rewards and benefits to family members. When we noticed that our users were exploring destinations worldwide, we created Scapia Experiences - a curated platform that helps them discover and book meaningful, local adventures. Travel isn’t about how you get somewhere or where you stay - it’s about what you do once you’re there. That’s the space we are enriching.

Ultimately, our goal is to design products that are as dynamic as our travellers - powered by data, inspired by curiosity, and built for real-world impact.

Q: Travel spending habits in India are changing quickly, especially among young users. What are some interesting trends or patterns you’re noticing in how your customers spend and plan travel?

Anil: Young Indians today want travel that’s digital-first, hyper-personalised, and seamlessly woven into their lifestyle - values that are core to Scapia’s ethos. We built Scapia as a credit and travel platform for Gen Z and millennials, designed around their need for ease, flexibility, and value.

This generation is bold, curious, and sees travel as self-investment and self-expression. They are unafraid to take their first international trip early, mix travel modes, and seek spontaneous, offbeat experiences. We see clear spikes in weekend bus bookings, reflecting that spontaneity. With the launch of Scapia Experiences, we expect strong interest in adventure treks, niche dining experiences, and local cultural activities - the kinds of immersive experiences they naturally gravitate toward. They are the type to choose caving in Vietnam over a cruise on Ha Long Bay.

A defining trend is their use of EMIs - around 20% of Gen Z travel bookings on Scapia. It’s not about affordability but about unlocking richer experiences responsibly. They view EMIs as a smart lifestyle tool and show impressive repayment discipline.

Ultimately, this generation values authenticity, flexibility, and discovery, and Scapia’s ecosystem is built to help them travel on their own terms - without compromise.

Q: How do you plan to measure the success of the Add-On Card - adoption numbers, engagement, or impact on user behaviour?

Anil: For us, success is measured in multiple ways. We will look at the number of add-on cards issued and spent from those users, but what matters even more is how customers feel about the product. We track that both quantitatively and qualitatively through engagement metrics, feedback loops, and ongoing research.

The Add-On Card is designed to make travel more inclusive, so we will know it’s working when we see families and partners using Scapia together, more often, and with greater satisfaction.

Q: With digital adoption growing fast, what’s your view on how data, personalisation, and technology will shape the next phase of personal finance products in India?

Anil: As digital adoption accelerates, the next phase of personal finance in India will be defined by intelligence, personalisation, and trust. The younger generation expects products that are deeply integrated with their lifestyle, digital-first, and built on transparency.

At Scapia, we see technology playing a key role in making finance more contextual and intuitive - from smarter credit design to predictive rewards and more. Data and AI will help create products that understand users in real time and adapt to their needs.

Equally important is security and privacy. As personalisation deepens, technology must protect and empower it. For us, that means building systems with robust data security, responsible AI, and transparent communication, ensuring users not only benefit from smarter products but also trust them completely.