Walmart-owned PhonePe has forayed into the insurance business, partnering with general insurer Bajaj Allianz, in line with its long-term strategy of becoming an all-round financial service provider.
The digital payments player said on Thursday that more such partnerships with a range of financial companies may be in the offing in the coming months in order to further diversify its service catalogue.
“We would be offering a wide range of unique financial products through this year as we go deeper in understanding consumer needs and solving them through strong partnerships in the industry,” said Hemant Gala, head-payments, banking and financial services.
Earlier this month, PhonePe partnered with Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund to offer mutual fund products on its mobile application.
The digital payment player will launch protection on international travel as the first insurance product. The product offering comes with a sum insured of up to $1 million, with minimum premium prices at Rs216, the company said in a statement.
PhonePe does not have an IRDAI or Sebi license to sell its own insurance or mutual fund products. Its platform can, however, be used as a marketplace by other financial services companies to cross-sell their offerings to PhonePe app users through a commission-based model.
“We are actively working with reputed insurance partners to introduce new categories of insurance products so that customers will have to look no further than our app for their insurance needs,” said Gunjan Ghai, Head of Insurance, PhonePe.
PhonePe has also launched a cash withdrawal service for customers on a pilot basis in the Delhi NCR region.
The new service will enable customers to withdraw or deposit cash at select PhonePe verified merchant stores through its mobile application. PhonePe will become the first major payment player to provide such a facility, which in payment parlance is known as a ‘cash in cash out’ (CICO).
“The PhonePe ATM allows customers to withdraw cash without any hassle through our trusted merchant partners,” said Vivek Lohcheb, Head of Offline Business Development, PhonePe. “It also helps merchants avoid the hassle of storing cash and making multiple trips to the bank branch to deposit their extra cash.”
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