BharatPe Partners With Axis Bank For Its POS Business Across India

* Strategic alliance aimed at ensuring better experience for BharatPe’s POS merchants

BharatPe, India’s leading fintech company for merchants, today announced a strategic alliance with Axis Bank, the third largest private sector bank in India. As a part of the association, Axis Bank will be the acquiring bank for BharatPe’s POS business (BharatSwipe) and will empower acceptance of credit and debit card payments for BharatPe’s merchants using BharatSwipe.

This association will help BharatPe enhance the merchant experience by leveraging best-in-class technology platform offered by Axis Bank. The merchants can enjoy faster payment processing, a more secured and simplified platform, along with a host of other features.

Axis Bank today is the third largest POS acquiring bank in the payments acceptance business in India. With an Installed Base of over 6,52,026 POS terminals spread across India in metro, urban, rural and even deep geo cities such as Barmer, Ratlam, Korba etc, serving both big and small merchants, the Bank currently processes around   Rs.19,000 Cr of volumes per month. With superior technological capabilities for faster and secure payment processing, Axis Bank is in a position to serve all partners and customers to leverage the same for accepting payments through multiple payment modes.  

BharatPe launched its POS machine, BharatSwipe, last year as India’s first zero rental and zero MDR POS machine. It received an overwhelming response from small merchants and kirana store owners. The BharatSwipe business has scaled up rapidly, and now contributes 20% to the overall payments Transaction Processed Value (TPV) of the company. BharatPe has an installed base of over 1 lac POS machines across 16 cities in the country and facilitates transactions of over Rs. 1400 crores every month. BharatPe clocked annualized transaction value of US$2bn on the POS terminals at the end of FY21 and has set a target of US$6 bn in annualized TPV by the end of FY22.

Commenting on the partnership, Sanjeev Moghe, EVP & Head- Cards & Payments, Axis Bank said, “We have been continuously working on partnership led models & digital solutions to expand our offerings to the merchant community. In this endeavour, we are delighted to partner with BharatPe, one of the fastest growing fintech brands in the country. This partnership aids our commitment to drive digital adoption across the ecosystem and achieve the goal of financial inclusion by bringing technological access for digital payments to all segments of the society. Further, we look forward to partnering with other fintechs and e-commerce players to help them ensure merchant stickiness on their QR code installations by providing co-branded POS plus QR and several other value added services”

Speaking on the association, Suhail Sameer, Chief Executive Officer, BharatPe said, “We have witnessed phenomenal growth in our POS business since its launch. We have set aggressive plans for the vertical and aim to enable 5 crore transactions and scale the POS business by 3x in the next 12 months. We are targeting tripling our POS deployment to 3 lac machines by the end of current fiscal. We are also looking at expanding our reach by 5x to 80 cities in the country.  We are also working towards rolling out customer credit offerings as well as add loyalty and rewards features to our POS devices in the coming months. In order to achieve these, we will be exploring partnerships with banking and financial institutions that can empower our offering. We believe that Axis Bank is amongst the ‘digitally- ahead’ banks in the country and we are confident that this partnership will be not only help us deliver a seamless offering to our merchants, but also be instrumental in our journey to achieve the next level of growth. We look forward to a more holistic association with them in the times to come.”

BharatSwipe also allows merchants to accept QR payments, via dynamic QR generated on the Swipe machine. Also, its feature of generating physical receipts for QR payments is one of the most sought after feature. The company has also recently launched ‘holiday settlements’ feature for its merchant partners. This feature allows merchants to accept settlements even on a bank holiday, thereby ensuring liquidity at all times.

BharatPe is India’s largest fintech company that offers a range of financial technology products for SMEs, small merchants and kirana store owners. It has been committed to drive financial inclusion in the country with India’s first UPI QR payment acceptance product with zero transaction fees, a range of loans for the underserved and the unexplored merchants as well as SMEs, and zero rental card acceptance machines. It will continue to scale its lending and payments business as well as expand its presence to newer markets in FY22. The company aspires to become a Digital Bank for all SMEs in the country.  It has set a target of reaching US$30 billion TPV annually on payments (both QR and Swipe) and building a loan book of $700 million with small merchants by March 2023.

Aviva Launches Aviva Saral Pension Plan Across The Indian Market

* Single premium immediate annuity plan that guarantees a regular income for the rest of your life 

Aviva Life Insurance, India’s most trusted private insurance company, has announced the launch of Aviva Saral Pension Plan, A Non-Linked Non-Participating Single Premium Individual Immediate Annuity Plan. It is a product with simple features and standard terms and conditions that enable customers to decide on planning their retirement. The plan allows the customers to adopt the policy basis their needs to ensure their secure retirement and provide financial protection to their loved ones in their absence.

Aviva Saral Pension Plan offers numerous benefits like guaranteed regular income for the rest of your life by paying just once, flexibility to receive annuity Monthly, Quarterly, Half-Yearly and Yearly, and loans against the policy. In case of demise of the annuitant, the entire purchase price Premium Amount is paid to the nominee(s). Additionally, the policy can be surrendered any time after six months from the commencement date if the annuitant, spouse, or any of the children of the annuitant is diagnosed with any critical illnesses specified in the Policy Document.

Mr Vinit Kapahi, Head, Marketing Function, Aviva Life Insurance said, “In line with IRDAI's vision to offer standard immediate annuity product with simple features, we have launched Aviva Saral Pension Plan. We understand the need for regular income in the later years of life and the importance of securing the financial future of loved ones even in one’s absence, making Aviva Saral Pension a helpful instrument for retirement planning.”

He further added, “Keeping in mind that the life expectancy is increasing because of improved healthcare facilities, nuclear families becoming a norm, retirement planning has become a necessity. So many people imagine themselves sitting comfortably, free of responsibilities, enjoying life in their golden years, and we want to help our customers live this dream with this launch of this product.”

Some of the key features of the Aviva Saral Pension Plan are:

Guaranteed income for a whole life: Pay only once and enjoy guaranteed regular income for the rest of your life starting as soon as the next month.

Option to secure your loved ones’ future: With the Joint Life option, you have the opportunity to secure your spouse's future income too.

Loan Availability: For those unexpected needs that life throws, you have the option to avail loan against the policy after six months from the time of purchase of the policy.

Enjoy Tax Benefits: Tax benefits may be available as per prevailing tax laws.

To know more about the product and its features visit: https://www.avivaindia.com/aviva-saral-pension-plan.

Over 95% Office Commuters Are Willing To Take A Carpool To Office Post Pandemic, sRide Survey Reveals

* Study conducted among 10,000 users in metro cities by leading carpooling app sRide 

The world economy is slowly returning to normalcy as the dark cloud looming over subsides and vaccination drives pacing in full throttle. There is a significant change in the sentiments of the workforce and return to office has become one of the key focus points for both individuals as well as businesses. sRide, India’s largest carpooling app through a survey found that 95% of the respondents in India expressed comfort carpooling their way to work once the country reopens for working from offices. Majority of them preferred commuting in ‘car bubbles’ with their own set of people. The survey also revealed 53% of respondents expect heading to work out of offices starting September. Over 10,000 respondents from the corporate community of India shared their views from 6 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune. 

Some of the key highlights of the study are that about 25% of respondents were willing to travel to offices three times a week while 30% were open to travel five times a week. The study which also collected responses from top IT companies across India revealed that organisations are looking at reopening their office spaces by October 2021 provided employees are completely vaccinated and depending on orders from the government.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Lakshna Jha, Founder & CEO, sRide, said, “We have noticed that carpoolers with sRide in the past have become friends and acquaintances. There is a greater sense of familiarity as they have traveled together in the past. Riders are also creating their own social bubbles with people they travel on the same route. One can also form social bubbles for frequent drives to the same place like the workplace, and enjoy the benefit of creating small communities to travel together and establish long-term relationships. Additionally, with the fuel price hike, use of personal vehicles has become expensive and makes Carpooling a preferred option.”

The concept of social bubbles has been the most followed trend in India in the last couple of months as the public has slowly started stepping out of their homes.  This concept became a trend as people have become more disciplined about maintaining their hygiene through social distancing. To ensure maximum hygiene and safety even while travelling, commuters have started to travel in their car bubbles. Since dependency on public transportation has reduced to avoid public exposure, commuters have increased their dependency on the next best affordable form of commute, carpooling. During the pandemic, sRide has helped users find “their set of people'' they feel safe in travelling and socialising. We have noticed the increase in the trend of commuters repeatedly choosing the same set of co-riders for their commute to work, shopping or be it vaccination drives. With strong emphasis on vaccination drives, easing up of lockdowns and reopening of businesses, the pandemic with its various impacts, has opened up the options for Carpooling in India. Given the circumstances, carpooling is the only win-win situation as it gives the combined benefit of cost-efficient ride by collectively saving on fuel expenses, a safe environment as you travel with your own set of familiar people and at the same time avoid extreme public exposure. sRide also encourages its users on various aspects of hygiene and sanitation in the new normal by consistently engaging with them through emailers, app notifications and several other communications. 

About sNeighbour from  sRide

sRide is a social platform that helps millions to commute by carpooling. With more than 2Million users across 10 All cities, sRide has helped more than 1 Million+ users monthly to share or pool their rides.  With sNeighbour, the 2 million users can come together to engage and help neighbourhoods.

Honda Cars India Ties Up With IndusInd Bank To Offer Lucrative Financing Schemes Ahead Of Festive Season

Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL), leading manufacturer of premium cars in India has partnered with IndusInd Bank to offer a gamut of convenient, affordable and personalized finance schemes for its customers, addressing their varied financing and payment needs. The partnership will facilitate customers to avail custom-built financing solutions on purchase of Honda Amaze and Honda City such as Low EMI, Flexi term, upto 100% ex showroom funding and customised schemes for specific customer groups like Farmers etc.

Considering the auspicious festive period ahead of us, HCIL has tied up with multiple financiers including PSU Banks, Retail Financiers and NBFCs, with a keen focus on semi-urban and rural regions, to offer competitive interest rates and flexible repayment options to enhance customer convenience during their car purchase.  Special schemes have also been offered to make this buying season even more attractive and rewarding. These schemes will offer easy to buy options for customers in the prevailing COVID scenario, where more and more customers are opting for personal mobility to keep themselves safe and healthy.

Commenting on this partnership and roll out of special schemes, Mr Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice President & Director, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Limited, said, “The partnership with IndusInd Bank is an extension of our efforts towards making personal mobility more accessible and affordable to diverse set of customers, both salaried and self employed. We anticipate increased demand during festive period, and with this partnership we will be offering easy, hassle – free and personalised financing solutions designed to encourage purchase and elevate car ownership experience.” He further added “Leveraging IndusInd Bank’s wide network of distribution points and branches, we will be increasing our reach and penetration across the country while making the brand interaction and purchase process much easier for customers.”

Speaking about the partnership, Mr. S. V. Parthasarathy, Head – Consumer Finance Division, IndusInd Bank, said, “We are proud and excited to be partner with Honda Cars India. With this, our customers will have a seamless journey towards financing and ultimately driving their dream cars.” Elaborating further on the partnership, Mr. T.A.Rajagoppalan, Executive Vice President, IndusInd Bank, said, “Our association with Honda Cars India will further enrich customer experience and aid the journey to purchase their dream cars with our pocket-friendly financial schemes, warm customer service and extensive market knowledge. These lucrative and customized financial schemes can be availed by all customers through an easy documentation process followed by our network pan-India.”

About Honda Cars India Ltd.

Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL), a leading manufacturer of premium cars in India, was established in December 1995 with a commitment to provide Honda’s passenger car models and technologies, to the Indian customers. HCIL’s corporate office is based in Greater Noida, UP and its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is located at Tapukara, District. Alwar, Rajasthan. 

The company’s product range include Honda Jazz, Honda Amaze, Honda WR-V, and Honda City catering to diverse needs of its discerning buyers across different segments. Honda’s models are strongly associated with advanced design and technology, apart from their established qualities of durability, reliability, safety and fuel-efficiency. The company has a strong sales and distribution network spread across the country. 

Besides the new car business, Honda offers one stop solution for buying and selling pre-owned cars through its business function Honda Auto Terrace. The Honda Certified Pre-owned cars come with an assurance of quality and peace of mind that caters to the diverse and burgeoning needs of pre-owned car buyers across the country.

About IndusInd Bank

IndusInd Bank, which commenced operations in 1994, caters to the needs of both consumer and corporate customers. Its technology platform supports multi-channel delivery capabilities. As on March 31, 2021, IndusInd Bank has 2,015 Branches/ Banking Outlet and 2,872 ATMs spread across geographical locations of the country. The Bank also has representative offices in London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Bank believes in driving its business through technology. It enjoys clearing bank status for both major stock exchanges - BSE and NSE - and major commodity exchanges in the country, including MCX, NCDEX and NMCE. IndusInd Bank was included in the NIFTY 50 benchmark index on April 1, 2013.  

Rare Enterprises To Invest In Syska LED Lights Private Limited

Rare Enterprises and its Partners have signed a term sheet to invest in Syska LED Lights Private Limited, promoted by the Uttamchandani family. In accordance with the terms of the signed term sheet, about 15% of the funds have been deployed already. It is expected that the transaction should conclude in the next 60 days.  

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Partner – Rare Enterprises, said “We are encouraged with the business and the brand that Syska has built so far – we view this as a long term partnership with the Promoter family to take Syska into its next phase of growth and leadership.”

Commenting on this partnership, Mr. Govind Uttamchandani, Director, Syska Group said, “Syska Group has been on a consistent growth trajectory and we are poised to achieve new business milestones in the coming years. With the blessings of our Guru, we believe this collaboration with Rare Enterprises will support our organization in its next phase of growth, and enable us to secure a leadership position in India’s fast moving electrical goods (FMEG) industry. We are confident that this will be a long and fruitful association.”

Syska Group has witnessed success over the years due to its first mover mindset and constant innovation. It has become one of the leading fast-moving electrical goods companies in the country and is today a household name pan India.

Rare Enterprises and its Partners are investors in Indian equities, both listed and unlisted. 

About Syska Group -

Starting with Guru Nanak Marketing, a company that was involved in the distribution of T-series Audio cassettes, CDs and audio video systems for Maharashtra, the SYSKA Group had only one thing to do: grow. As the SYSKA Group continues to grow and become a domestic leader, their eyes are set to the world as their presence grows in countries across the globe. Empowered by a strong vision and drive, the SYSKA Group grew and diversified into more segments such as LED, Personal Care Appliances, Mobile accessories, Home Appliances and only continues to grow and dominate these markets.

NPCI Announces Tech5 As The Winner Of The PayAuth Challenge For Developing An Alternative Solution For Authorising UPI Payments

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announces Tech5, an international touchless biometric solutions management company as the winner of the Global level Hackathon – ‘PayAuth Challenge’ for creating an innovative alternative for authenticating UPI based transactions. The solution developed by Tech5 involves using biometric in a secured manner to authenticate the financial transactions on UPI. Tech5 has also been rewarded prize money of USD 20,000 along with a chance to develop a proof of concept (POC) with NPCI.

The first of its kind PayAuth challenge was launched on 9th February, 2021 by NPCI in association with APIX, the world's first cross-border, open-architecture API marketplace and sandbox platform. NPCI's PayAuth Hackathon sought to explore the practicability of products and solutions that utilise factors like biometrics and facial recognition to provide a more user-friendly way to authenticate and authorise transactions on the UPI platform.

This challenge received more than 100 entries and post several rounds of considerations, 19 participants were shortlisted for an internal screening round. 8 participants were selected to present their solutions during the finale conducted on 17th April, 2021. The jury finalised Tech5 as the winner and announced the remaining three shortlisted finalists i.e., Infobip, Juspay & Minkasu as the joint runners-up of the challenge. The prize money of USD 10,000 for the runners-up shall be distributed among the three joint winners, who shall also have a possible opportunity to work on a Proof of Concept (PoC) with NPCI.

Ms. Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, “A big thank you to all participants who made a success of the hackathon. We would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to Tech5 – the winner of the PayAuth challenge and to Infobip, Juspay & Minkasu as the joint runners-up. We believe that this challenge brought together the brightest of minds to create exceptional and innovative solutions to perform digital transactions with ease and safety. We, at NPCI, are thrilled to explore the alternative authorisation solutions created by the winners to facilitate a customer-friendly payment authentication mechanism for the ever-expanding UPI consumer base. It is our sincere endeavour to back the UPI ecosystem and empower them with the right resources. The dynamic and evolving digital payments landscape in India has carved a niche for itself in the global arena and is only set to grow at an exponential rate.”

A member of the Jury, Mr. Pratik Pal, CEO, Tata Digital said, "It is heartening to see young fintech start-ups using their creativity and innovation, to take giant strides in order to redefine the digital payment ecosystem. As part of the jury at the PayAuth Challenge, we got an exciting opportunity to evaluate various strategic and interesting digital solutions. We would like to congratulate Tech5 who emerged as the best despite the tough competition and at the same time applaud the sincere efforts of all the participants in designing distinctive solutions with respect to UPI payments. We believe that the payment ecosystem should continue its focus and commitment towards nurturing fintech start-ups to attain the goal of a cash-lite society and help the country."

Another member of the jury, Mr. Sanjay Jain, Chief Innovation Officer, CIIE.Co and Partner at Bharat Innovation Fund said “As digital payments continue to grow, digital payment systems must continually innovate, and look to improve security and user convenience without compromising on either. The participants in the challenge have shown that both are possible, and I look forward to seeing these solutions incorporated in UPI, bringing in newer users and use cases."

Emirates Appoints Mohammad Sarhan As The New Vice President For India, Nepal

 

Emirates has announced the appointment of Mohammad Sarhan as vice president for India and Nepal, effective September 1, 2021.

“Sarhan will be responsible for leading the airline’s operations and strengthening Emirates’ presence in the market. Jabr Al-Azeeby, currently vice president of India and Nepal, will take on the role as vice president for Saudi Arabia,” reads the release.

Sarhan holds more than 15 years of experience in the aviation industry. His first post with Emirates came in 2009 in Cote d’Ivoire, and since then he’s held several commercial leadership roles in Vietnam, Greece, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia. In his new role, Sarhan will manage the airline’s commercial operations, drive business growth and lead the airline’s strategic initiatives across the region.

Mohammad Sarhan, Emirates vice president for India and Nepal, said, “I’m very excited and privileged to be taking on this new opportunity. Emirates has shared strong ties with India since 1985 and I look forward to working with our talented staff on-ground to continue growing the airline’s operations in the market.”

The new appointment comes as the airline announces several commercial leadership movements across West Asia, Africa, the GCC, and Central Asia. All of the movements include Emirati talent into key leadership positions, either being promoted from within the organisation or through portfolio rotations, underpinning the airline’s commitment to career development and progression of its UAE nationals.

Emirates has held strong ties with India since 1985 and the airline remains committed to its long-term commercial strategy in the country. Emirates currently operates passenger services to nine destinations in India including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram - connecting customers to more than 120 destinations via Dubai.