Axis Bank buys payment wallets Freecharge for Rs 385 cr in all cash deal

By:  |  Published: July 28, 2017 6:45 AM

Axis Bank on Thursday said it had acquired payments wallet FreeCharge in an all-cash deal for Rs 385 crore. The purchase will help the lender enhance its digital banking services and tap into a larger customer pool. “The whole purpose is to leverage the agile innovate culture of a start-up and combine it with the trust factor of a bank. It can be best achieved by having an independent entity,” Axis Bank MD and CEO Shikha Sharma said. Sharma added that the acquisition was a strategic fit for the bank and would help create an agile technology platform to service digital customers. “The challenge is to leverage the strength of the two organisations to do something which is uniquely different and unique in the market place,” she said. Jairam Sridharan, chief financial officer, Axis Bank, said the acquisition would help augment the bank’s digital capability and execution capacity. “You will see an instant doubling of the Axis customer base with the transaction,” Sridharan said. The lender has bought a 100% stake in FreeCharge Payment Technologies and Accelyst Solutions.

The two constitute the digital payments business of Jasper Infotech, which runs e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal.com. Axis Bank, the country’s third largest private sector bank, has around 20 million savings deposit customers while FreeCharge has more than 50 million customers. The bank has a 10% market share in the mobile banking space. “FreeCharge entrenches us in the digital payment landscape. It enhances our reach in a new customer segment which is digital, which is mobile first, which is relatively young, and it creates a platform for us to distribute our digital products and service,” Sridharan said at a press conference.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ED tracks Swiss Bank A/Cs of Agusta scamster

The Poineer February 10,2019 Rakesh K Singh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tracked a dozen Swiss bank accounts in the name of Rajiv Saxena, who is key accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The ED has also found out accounts held by  his family members and associates where the kickbacks in the now scrapped deal were allegedly parked. Two bank accounts are in the name of Rajiv Saxena’s  associates Pankaj Jain and Sumita Jain who are also the authorised signatories. The  third is in the name of another associate Ajit Singh Bubber, but Rajiv and his family members are authorised signatories. The remaining nine accounts are largely owned and operated by Rajiv, his family members and associates. Rajiv Saxena was deported by the UAE authorities on January 30 and the ED formally arrested him the next day and a court later granted his remand to the agency. He is currently undergoing custodial interrogation by the ED. The agency had in 2017 arrested his
Read more

J&K Cricket Board Scam: Chargesheet Filed Against Farooq Abdullah, 3 Others By CBI

OUTLOOK July 16, 2018 The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah and three others. The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and three others in a special court in Srinagar in connection with alleged irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. After the fall of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP government, this is the biggest development that has taken place in the state. The National Conference has not reacted to the chargesheet so far. The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah, the then president of JKCA, Md Saleem Khan - the then general secretary, Ahsan Ahmad Mirza - the then treasuer and Bashir Ahmad Misgar, an executive in the J&K Bank. The BCCI gave Rs 112 crore t
Read more

As financial insecurity rises in urban India, so does investment in insurance

Image
Scroll.in March 13, 2020 Urban Indians are becoming less confident about their financial security. Up to 58% of them fret over financial independence post retirement, which is a 4% increase from last year. An equal share of urban Indians worry about meeting their daily medical expenses and sustaining their current lifestyle once they stop working. The findings are part of a survey published by Delhi-based Max Life Insurance in association with London-based consultancy Kantar. The firms surveyed 7,014 respondents in 25 cities, including six metros, nine tier-1 cities, and 10 tier-2 cities, between December 2019 and January 2020. Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz The trends Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz A significant share of urban Indians also say their families will have no financial support in the event of the breadwinner’s death. In such a scenario, around 57% believe the family sav
Read more