Tally Solutions Seeks Small Finance Bank Licence

Tally Solutions Ltd., a company that provides enterprise resource planning software to small businesses, is among thew newest applicants for a small finance bank licence.

In a release on Monday, the Reserve Bank of India said that two firms had applied for a licence:

• Cosmea Financial Holdings Private Limited

• Tally Solutions Private Limited

The new applicants join a list of four that are already in queue for a licence to operate a small finance bank. These licences are now available on-tap but have to be vetted and approved by a special committee set up under the leadership of former RBI Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath.

Earlier applicants include: VSoft Technologies, Calicut City Service Cooperative Bank, Akhil Kumar Gupta, Dvara Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services.

Tally Solutions

Tally describes itself as a company delivering business software to small and medium enterprises. It was set up three decades ago and claims to have a presence across 100 countries through a network of 28,000 partners.

According to a Business Standard article dated 2013, Tally counted Mukesh Ambani as a large shareholder. That seems to have changed in the intervening years as March 2020 filings with the registrar of companies show Bhakti Manoj Modi as the single largest shareholder in Tally Solutions, with a 49.77% stake. Tally founder, Bharat Goenka and his family members own 50% collectively. Bhakti Manoj Modi is married to Tejas Goenka, the founder's son and Tally's managing director.

Bhakti's father, Manoj Modi, is among Mukesh Ambani's closest business associates and a director on the board of Reliance Retail Ltd. as per last available public information. Goenka too has been known to be a close Ambani aide for two decades.

BloombergQuint was not able to immediately reach the Goenkas, Modis or Ambanis for comment.

Cosmea Financial Holdings

Cosmea Financial Holdings is a company involved in activities linked to financial intermediation, according to public information available on Zauba Corp, a website which provides corporate information. The company was incorporated in 2020.

No further details are available.