Taking Xiaomi head on along with an aim to become a leading digital payments provider, Chinese smartphone maker Realme has announced its foray into the burgeoning financial services sector with “PaySa” platform while evaluating its own digital payments mobile platform next year.
The company aims to acquire 25 million customers in the next two years.
”Realme PaySa” aims to serve individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in both metros and tier II and III cities. It offers digital personal loan up to Rs 1 lakh and digital SME loans up to Rs 5 lakh.
“We aim to repeat our success in the mobile business and become one of the top 5 new entrants in financial services in the next two-three years. We are evaluating the launch of mobile phone financing and payments in 2020,” said Madhav Sheth, Chief Executive Officer, Realme India.
In 2020, the platform aims to disburse loans of approximately 1000 crore, acquire three to five million new customers, launch multiple new products and take its first step in financial services in India.
The app, available on both Google Play Store and realme App store, will have four businesses across lending, savings, payment and protection. The beta launch of the platform has been done and a full roll-out is expected in the next six to 12 months.
“Larger loan requirements for both individuals and SMEs are serviced by the ”realme PaySa” teams present in different cities.
The brand has entered into strategic co-development partnerships with Early Salary (for digital personal loans), Lending Kart (for digital business loans) and Credit Mantri (for free credit report).
According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, it is a good attempt but it will be part of larger ecosystem-level approach for Realme.
“Realme has a good installed base in India which the brand will look to monetize sooner or later. Fintech segment is important to crack as smartphone ASP in India is increasing,” Pathak told IANS.
“Aspirational value for flagships run high so bridging the gap between aspirational and affordability in India is a good business opportunity,” he added.
According to Realme, there would be more tie-ups as the platform expands.
“We aim to acquire 25 million customers in the next two years by making mainstream financial products accessible to consumers in emerging India. We plan to win by bringing innovation in our OS and hardware to simplify access, co-develop products with partners and develop products that are easy to use,” said Varun Sridhar, Lead, Realme PaySa.
