Khaberni - "Google Pay", affiliated with Alphabet, launched on Wednesday its first digital co-branded credit card in India in partnership with Axis Bank, in a step aimed at boosting its efforts to generate revenue from its vast user base amid the booming financial technology market in the South Asian country.
Although "Google Pay" is a dominant entity in India's popular local payments network, Unified Payments Interface, its core service does not generate any revenue from peer-to-peer payments due to government restrictions. However, the company earns commissions from in-app services such as bill payments and phone recharges.
The launch of the credit card opens a new pathway for Google to generate revenue from its user base, emulating strategies of its local competitors such as Paytm Payments and PhonePe in selling lending products to payment users.
Google Pay's data indicates that there are 50 million credit cardholders in India, while the population exceeds 1.4 billion.
Google Pay ranks second among payment apps in India, in terms of transaction volume on the Unified Payments Interface, having processed about 7.2 billion transactions in October alone.
Axis Bank manages the credit risk and issuance, while the digital card is exclusively linked to Google Pay for conducting online and offline payments from anywhere.
Google stated that the card's rates, including interest and applicable fees, will vary depending on the user and credit profile, with no application fees, adding that the fees associated with payment options are clearly displayed in the app.
Processing fees are applied to the monthly installment transfers, and fees are charged for late payments according to the issuing bank's policy.
