Bajaj Finserv seeks RBI nod to float credit card biz

Bajaj Finserv has sought RBI's permission to float a credit card business on its own. The company has also abandoned its proposal to float a mutual fund and has drawn plans to have an intermediate non-operating holding company, should the group get a banking licence from RBI.

Bajaj Finserv is one of the 26 applicants seeking a bank licence from RBI. Bajaj Finserv, besides being the flagship brand of the group, is the holding company for Bajaj AutoFinance - a listed finance company and the life and non-life insurance joint venture with Allianz of Germany. Led by Sanjiv Bajaj, Bajaj Finserv holds 74% stake in the insurance companies and 61.99% in Bajaj Finance Limited. Half of the finance company's loan book comprises of consumer loans and around 35% of loans are to small and medium enterprises. The rest - around 15% - comprises loans to corporates and infrastructure.

S Sreenivasan, president (finance) at Bajaj Finserv, said that the company was looking at ways to increase lending to segments that would qualify as priority sector lending for banks. "Some of our auto loans would qualify under bank priority sector lending requirement. We are also running a pilot project for lending in rural areas and are finding that there is demand for consumption loans even in rural areas."

The company, which issues a co-branded credit card with Standard Chartered Bank, has sought permission from the central bank to launch a card of its own. On the mutual fund business, which has been on the drawing board for a while, Sreenivasan said, "We are not going ahead with that."

Bajaj Auto Finance's disbursements grew at 20% in the second quarter to Rs 5,199 crore as compared to Rs 4,334 crore in Q2FY13. Bajaj Finserv, which consolidates results of the group companies, reported a net profit of Rs 277 crore for the second quarter of FY14 - an increase of 28% compared to the net profit of Rs 217 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Bajaj-Finserv-seeks-RBI-nod-to-float-credit-card-biz/articleshow/24276977.cms

Tata to rollout 15,000 ATMs in the next 3 years

In line with Reserve Bank of India’s vision to accelerate growth and improve ATM penetration across the country, the Tatas before getting permission to open a bank yet, are taking big stride in financial inclusion. The Tata group company, Tata Communications Payment Solution, has got RBI clearance to install 15,000 ATMs in the next three years, two-third of which will be in smaller towns, said Economic Times. The Reserve Bank of India has permitted non-banking companies to deploy white-label ATMs, allowing customers to withdraw cash from these machines using debit cards of any bank, in an effort to reach out to the deepest pockets of the country. The company said that it will roll out three machines in the rural belt and 17 in semi-urban districts for every 10 machines installed in bigger cities, in line with the country's financial inclusion agenda. The group has installed 400 machines so far. "ATM density is low in India and there's enough space for everyone to do business," Tata Communications Payment CEO Sanjeev Patel said, after announcing the ATM roll-out plan in Bengal. "We have chosen West Bengal reasonably early in our strategy. Low ATM density in northern parts of West Bengal makes it an attractive region," he said

Vodafone, ICICI Bank launch M-Pesa in Maharashtra

Vodafone India and ICICI Bank have launched the unique mobile money transfer and payment service ‘M-Pesa’ in Maharashtra, in an effort to empower the unbanked sections of the society to access financial services through their mobile phones. M-Pesa will combine the strengths of both Vodafone and ICICI Bank to effectively promote the financial inclusion across country. The service will be available across 286 Tehsils, 33 Districts through 4080 specially trained authorized agents and across 387 Vodafone exclusive retail stores in Maharashtra, according to an Economic Times report. The ET report quoted M-Pesa’s Business head, Suresh Sethi as saying that M-Pesa is in line with the government’s plan to bring financial inclusion in the country while complying with all the regulations.

India's iPhone craze sees introduction of telco bundling

The new iPhone 5 was launched in India on November 1 and industry reports indicate only 30,000 units were shipped to coincide with Diwali shopping. Only 30,000 you might ask? Even I'm surprised, but then again, this was probably a pre-calculated move by Apple India in order to maintain the momentum after Diwali and keep the iPhone craze alive and well.

According to The Times of India, even the costlier iPhone 5s was sold out across India, with retailers scrambling for emergency stock from Apple India, as apparently only 6,000 of these units were shipped across India. Major Indian mobile operators such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, along with retailers, have sought additional stock but with the Diwali weekend, re-stocking efforts have been delayed. While the iPhone 5s is out of stock, retailers such as The MobileStore, PlanetM, UniverCell, and Future Group have the iPhone 5c in stock. However, those who want the iPhone 5s are not willing to compromise for the iPhone 5c to begin with. How I love the loyal Apple fans!

One of the main reasons why both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications quickly ran out of the more expensive iPhone 5s is because for the first time, a device is being sold and bundled with almost the same kind of contracts available overseas.

Bharti Airtel's plan is simply offering a rental of either the iPhone 5c or iPhone 5s with savings of 12,000 Indian rupees a year. Reliance Communication's plan, which is more appealing because of the unlimited voice calls and data usage, is offering base models of the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s with zero upfront, and monthly rental fees of 2,599 Indian rupees and 2,999 Indian rupees, respectively.

From my perspective, I look at this as the real Diwali gift for all Indian consumers. It's seriously about time that Indian mobile operators started bundling phones with deals, and I hope eventually the day will come when subscribers can sign up for 2 or 3 years plans and receive devices at a completely subsidized cost. That is, for free. However, considering this is the first time a device is being offered with bundled services, I would look at this as trial experiment by both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications. Based on new subscribers, this could eventually lead to other devices being bundled with services and plans, along with other leading Indian mobile operators jumping on board.

Unfortunately, three of the main reasons why offering such schemes, directly from Indian mobile providers, have failed to become popular in India are because some subscribers either don't have established credit, or even a credit card. Furthermore, address verification has become so critical now when signing up new subscribers, and oddly, some people still can't be verified to the address provided. If the Indian mobile operators could somehow overcome these three main obstacles, I see no reason why Indian consumers can't benefit from the same plans and packages for devices as offered abroad.