Walmart’s PhonePe launches India mobile app store to rival Google

A general store advertises the use of the PhonePe digital payment system in Mumbai, India. MUST CREDIT: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

Walmart Inc.-owned fintech PhonePe Pvt. launched a mobile application store for consumers in India, the world’s biggest market for downloads. The Android-based store is called Indus Appstore, PhonePe said in a statement Wednesday, as it pits the product against Google’s Play Store. The store will have more than 200,000 mobile applications and games in 12 Indian languages. The move comes as PhonePe capitalizes on growing mobile usage in the world’s second-largest smartphone market. The group is also trying to forge partnerships with smartphone makers and expects to be live on most major phone brands by the end of the year, Chief Executive Officer Sameer Nigam told reporters in New Delhi. Developers will not have to pay any application listing fee until April 2025 and can use any third-party payment gateway of their choice, the release said. PhonePe Group also runs a payments business that competes with Ant Group-backed Paytm and Google’s GPay.Walmart’s PhonePe launches India mobile app store to rival Google

Read More........ → March 19, 2024

Walmart’s PhonePe launches India mobile app store to rival Google

A general store advertises the use of the PhonePe digital payment system in Mumbai, India. MUST CREDIT: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

Feb. 21, 2024– Walmart Inc.-owned fintech PhonePe Pvt. launched a mobile application store for consumers in India, the world’s biggest market for downloads.

The Android-based store is called Indus Appstore, PhonePe said in a statement Wednesday, as it pits the product against Google’s Play Store. The store will have more than 200,000 mobile applications and games in 12 Indian languages.

The move comes as PhonePe capitalizes on growing mobile usage in the world’s second-largest smartphone market.

The group is also trying to forge partnerships with smartphone makers and expects to be live on most major phone brands by the end of the year, Chief Executive Officer Sameer Nigam told reporters in New Delhi.

Developers will not have to pay any application listing fee until April 2025 and can use any third-party payment gateway of their choice, the release said.

PhonePe Group also runs a payments business that competes with Ant Group-backed Paytm and Google’s GPay. Walmart’s PhonePe launches India mobile app store to rival Google

Read More........ → February 26, 2024

U.S. Bank and Pagaya Technologies Forge Partnership to Broaden Personal Loan Accessibility

U.S. Bank has entered a partnership with Pagaya Technologies, aimed at enhancing access to personal loans for a wider range of clients.

Utilising Pagaya’s AI-powered credit decisioning capabilities, U.S. Bank can extend loans to individuals who may not meet traditional lending criteria. This collaboration allows U.S. Bank to offer responsible credit solutions to more customers, leveraging technology to assess eligibility beyond conventional measures such as credit score and debt-to-income ratio.

Now, when a U.S. Bank client applies for a personal loan that doesn’t meet its traditional requirements, Pagaya will complete a secondary review via its AI-powered credit decisioning capabilities. If the borrower is approved, U.S. Bank will originate the loan as well as service the clients over the life of the loan.

More than 2,000 clients have already benefited from this initiative, highlighting its potential to broaden financial opportunities for diverse borrowers.

“We know that we have many clients who don’t fall within our traditional credit parameters,” said Mike Shepard, head of consumer lending partnerships at U.S. Bank. “By expanding access to responsible credit solutions, we are giving clients access to funds when they need it the most, through their existing and trusted banking relationship with us.”Leslie Gillin, Pagaya’s chief growth officer, also commented: “We share U.S. Bank’s commitment to increasing access to life-changing financial products and services. With Pagaya’s integrated and seamlessly embedded lending technology, our lending partners can expand and deepen their client relationships to a more diverse group of borrowers. ”U.S. Bank and Pagaya Technologies Forge Partnership to Broaden Personal Loan Accessibility

Read More........ → February 19, 2024