Flipkart to launch new 'payment product' within a month
Flipkart, India's leading e-commerce platform, is preparing to unveil a new payment product within the next month, CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy told Moneycontrol. Although details about the product remain under wraps, it will primarily enhance the frequency of transactions on the e-commerce platform. The Walmart-owned company is also testing its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with a select group of users for several weeks now.
Flipkart seeks to enhance customer experience
The upcoming payment offering is designed to cater to the diverse preferences of Flipkart's 500-600 million users. Krishnamurthy stated, "The way the customer would want to pay, they will be able to pay." The primary focus is on increasing user frequency and driving commerce by providing various financial services products that boost customers' purchasing power on the platform.
Flipkart has offered several financial services in the past
In the past, Flipkart has dabbled in financial services through collaborations with institutions like Axis Bank. The company introduced a lending marketplace in July last year and currently operates a successful co-branded credit card program with over 4.5 million active consumers. Flipkart Pay Later, a "buy now pay later" product, has also been available for several years. Krishnamurthy highlighted the significance of such services for high average selling price items like televisions, refrigerators, and costly smartphones.
No ambition to be the largest payment company: Flipkart
Flipkart's CEO clarified that the company does not aspire to become India's largest payment or fintech company. He said, "We are not trying to be the largest payments company in India. Again, no such ambition or don't even have the bandwidth or appetite to do anything close to that." The main objective is to enhance customers' ability to afford more while generating revenue from financial institutions through lead referrals.
