<ul><li>The Series C round was raised $50 million from Australia-based Zip Co that works in the same space.</li><li>Zip Co will acquire a minor stake and a board seat in <keyword id="6414960" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zestmoney" source="Orion">Zestmoney</keyword> post this investment.</li><li>The Indian startup claims to have a customer base of 11 million, of which 70% are from Tier II and III cities and are first time <keyword id="6354680" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="credit" source="Orion">credit</keyword> seekers.</li></ul>Payments company Zestmoney, which allows customers to ‘buy now and pay later’ (BNPL), has raised $50 million from Australia-based Zip Co that works in the same space. The six-year-old Indian startup will use this capital to further expand its product, deepen its transaction network, strengthen its balance sheet capacity and enter new business opportunities in insurance as well as savings. ZestMoney also acquired a corporate agent insurance licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) last month in order to get into the insurance business. Zip Co will acquire a minor stake and a board seat in Zestmoney post this investment. “The investment by Zip is a deep validation of our position as market leader in the <keyword id="4585897" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="buy-now-pay-later" source="Orion">Buy Now Pay Later</keyword> category in India,” Lizzie Chapman, co-founder and chief executive (CEO) of ZestMoney said. “While Buy Now, Pay Later is emerging as a preferred mode of payment globally, in India it also plays a crucial role in driving access to credit,” Larry Diamond, CEO of Zip Co, said. The fundraise is a part of a larger Series C round, which will witness the participation of more existing investors. The fintech startup has not specified the names of the investors that are likely to invest in the round. ZestMoney has raised over $110 million to date from investors like Goldman Sachs, Quona Capital, Xiaomi, Prosus &amp; Naspers, and Alteria Capital, among others. The company is a digital omnichannel BNPL player, which claims to have a merchant network of 10,000 online and 75,000 offline stores. The company claims to have a customer base of 11 million, of which 70% are from Tier II and III cities and are first time credit seekers. BNPL or Buy Now Pay Later is a short term micro credit model, which allows customers to purchase and delay the payment by 14-30 days. In some cases, customers also have an option to pay over several installments. LazyPay and Simpl are few companies working in this domain in India. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/zee-entertainment-merges-with-sony-pictures/articleshow/86416420.cms">Marriage Story! Zee gets a white knight in Sony</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/infosys-hdfc-bank-vedanta-and-other-top-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-september-22/slidelist/86415930.cms">Zee Entertainment, Infosys, HDFC Bank and other top stocks to watch out for on September 22</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/zee-entertainment-shares-hits-upper-circuit-after-two-independent-directors-resign-on-investors-demand/articleshow/86189814.cms">Zee Entertainment hits 33% after two independent directors resign on investor’s demand</a>

Payments firm ZestMoney raises $50 million to test out insurance business

<ul><li><keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword> has outrightly denied reports that one of its majority shareholders <keyword id="9541717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ant-Group">Ant Group</keyword> may sell its entire 30% stake in the startup. </li><li>A Reuters report stated that amid growing tensions between India-China, Ant Group was mulling a possible exit from the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company. </li><li>With rising border tensions between India and China, Indian startups with Chinese investments have come under a lot of scrutiny. </li></ul>Indian digital payments leader Paytm has denied reports that one of its majority shareholders Ant Group may sell its entire 30% (worth $4.8 billion) stake in the startup. A <a href="https://in.reuters.com/article/ant-group-paytm/exclusive-chinas-ant-considers-paytm-stake-sale-amid-tensions-with-india-sources-idINKBN28C17R">Reuters report</a> citing sources stated that amid growing tensions between India-China, Ant Group was mulling a possible exit from the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company. The Indian government has so far banned almost <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/indian-government-has-banned-220-chinese-apps-so-far-including-pubg-mobile-aliexpress-tiktok-shareit-and-more/articleshow/79390031.cms">220 Chinese apps</a> this year. However, a Paytm spokesperson denied the report. "The information is absolutely false and misleading. There has been no discussion with any of our major shareholders ever, nor any plans, about selling their stake or becoming the controlling shareholder. Our mission is to empower half a billion Indians with digital financial services and pursue the vast opportunity presented by the digital financial revolution in our country. We are seeing a dramatic increase in revenues and acceleration of our path to breakeven,” a Paytm spokesperson told Business Insider. The rising tension between India and China at the Ladakh border has led the government in New Delhi to crack down on foreign direct investments (FDI) from China. Paytm had earlier <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/paytm-founder-vijay-shekhar-sharma-hails-ban-on-59-chinese-apps-faces-backlash/story/408416.html">faced backlash</a> on Twitter as well for its investments from the Chinese giant. Chinese investors have pumped in an estimated $4 billion into India’s tech startups, which includes bets on 18 out of the country’s 30 unicorns, according to a Gateway House report. The scepticism around Chinese investments in India has been rising, which affects some of the biggest startups in India like Paytm, Ola, Byju’s and more. China’s biggest funds and their bets in India <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tencent </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Byju’s, Ola, Dream11, Flipkart, Hike, Swiggy, Udaan, Niyo, Gaana, Doubtnut, Khatabook, MX Player, Pine Labs, Pocket FM, Practo, MyGate. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Alibaba </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Paytm, Bigbasket, Paytm Mall, Snapdeal, Zomato, Healofy, Ticketnow, Rapido, Vidooly, Xpressbees </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Xiaomi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hungama, Sharechat, Rapido, ZestMoney, Oye! Rickshaw, City Mall, Marsplay Internet </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/breather-for-flipkart-as-supreme-court-stays-order-for-cci-probe-over-alleged-abuse-of-dominant-position/articleshow/79528982.cms">Breather for Flipkart as Supreme Court stays order for CCI probe over alleged abuse of dominant position</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/burger-king-in-india-isnt-competing-with-just-dominos-or-mcdonalds-the-roadside-chola-bhatura-vendor-is-a-peer-too/articleshow/79526057.cms">INTERVIEW: Burger King in India isn’t competing with just Domino's or McDonald’s⁠, the roadside chola bhatura vendor is a peer too⁠</a>

Paytm denies report that Ant Group may dump its stake worth almost $5 billion as India-China tension escalates

After the success of its pilot programme in India, Xiaomi is back with its digital lending platform <keyword id="6552363" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mi-Credit">Mi Credit</keyword>. Through the app, the company provides instant loans up to ₹1 lakh to users within five minutes. Earlier, Xiaomi had partnered with KreditBee to disburse loans. This time around, it has partnered with Aditya Birla Finance, Money View, EarlySalary, CreditVidya and ZestMoney. Xiaomi is providing real-time disbursements and supports all major banks on its platform. How to avail an <keyword id="4381247" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="instant-loan">instant loan</keyword> from Mi Credit The loan application process is 100% digital and takes just five minutes. Just follow the below steps to avail a loan up to ₹1 lakh from Mi Credit: <ul><li>Download the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.micredit.in.gp">Mi Credit</a> app from the Google Play Store.</li><li>Sign in using your phone number or your Mi account.</li><li>Once you sign in, you will see a banner that says, ‘Maximum loan amount ₹1,00,000’.</li><li>Click on the ‘Complete’ button.</li><li>Now, enter the required information such as your name, gender, date of birth, email ID, PAN number and pin code.</li><li>Agree to the terms and conditions at the end and click on ‘Submit’.</li><li>You will then be asked to submit your address proof and a selfie as part of KYC.</li><li>A loan profile will inform you whether you are eligible for a loan.</li><li>If you are eligible, you will be asked to submit your bank account details and the loan will be disbursed to your account.</li></ul>How to check your credit score on Mi Credit app In addition to availing an instant loan, you can also check your credit score on the Mi Credit app for free. <ul><li>Download the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.micredit.in.gp">Mi Credit</a> app from the Google Play Store.</li><li>Sign in using your phone number or your Mi account.</li></ul><ul><li>At the bottom bar, click on ‘Profile’.</li><li>Now, click on ‘Credit Report’.</li><li>Provide the required details, including your PAN number.</li><li>Agree to the terms and conditions at the bottom and click on ‘Submit’.</li></ul>Once your credit report is ready, it will be sent to your registered email address.

Here’s how you can avail an instant loan from Mi Credit

<ul><li><keyword id="6485927" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="realme">Realme</keyword> announced its entry into financial services with Realme Payसा. </li><li>It comes days after <keyword id="874458" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Xiaomi">Xiaomi</keyword> launched its credit lending platform Mi Credit. </li><li>In the smartphone segment, Xiaomi holds a 27.1% market share, whereas Realme has a 14.3% share in the Indian market. </li></ul> Indian smartphone maker Realme announced its entry into financial services with Realme Payसा. It hopes to acquire 25 million users in the next two years. Its entry into financial services comes days after Xiaomi launched its credit lending platform Mi Credit. “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 2-3 years. We are evaluating the launch of mobile phone financing and payments in 2020,” said Madhav Sheth, CEO- realme India. Both Xiaomi and Realme are competing in the Indian affordable smartphones category and now they will continue it their fight in the financial services segment too as well. According to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/11/realme-india-xiaomi-market-share/">reports</a>, Xiaomi holds a 27.1% market share in smartphones, whereas Realme has a 14.3% share in the Indian market. Realme’s offering is similar to that of Xiaomi. realme Payसा beta app offers digital personal loans upto ₹1 lakh and digital SME loans upto ₹5 lakh. Mi Credit too offers personal loans upto ₹1 lakh, after one registers on the platform with relevant details. In China, Xiaomi has already disbursed ₹1 lakh crore in loans since its launch in 2015 and for all of its financial services – payment, credit, wealth and insurance, it has a user base of 45 million. While Xiaomi has partnered with Aditya Birla Finance Limited, Money View, EarlySalary, Zestmoney and CreditVidya, Realme has associated with Early Salary, Lending Kart and Credit Mantri. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/xiaomi-launches-mi-credit-in-india/articleshow/72350148.cms">Xiaomi’s Mi Credit promises to give you a loan by the time you order and finish a cup of coffee</a>

Smartphone makers Realme and Xiaomi will compete in the financial services market too

New Delhi, Dec 3 () Chinese smartphone major Xiaomi on Tuesday formally launched its lending solution, Mi Credit, in the Indian market.
 This is Xiaomi's second finance solution to be launched in India after Mi Pay.
 "Mi Credit is an online curated marketplace for lending to offer the best personal loans... People can get up to Rs 1 lakh of loan and the process takes minimal time," Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India told reporters here.
 He added that the opportunity in online credit lending in India is estimated to touch Rs 70 lakh crore by 2023.
 Citing a CIBIL report, Xiaomi said there are over Rs 4 lakh crores worth of personal loans outstanding from nearly 1.9 crore customers, with each user accounting to an almost Rs 2 lakh of outstanding amount.
 Of these 1.9 crore customers, majority tend to avail it for medical emergencies followed by shopping, wedding, travel and education purposes.
 The current lending partners for Mi Credit are primarily NBFCs or Fintechs such as Aditya Birla Finance Ltd, Money View, EarlySalary, Zestmoney and CreditVidya.
 "It's built as the first personal loan choice for aspirational young professionals and millennials. Mi Credit solves most challenges associated with the traditional lending industry with a 100 per cent digital experience," Jain said.
 Mi phone users can also check their credit score on the app for free.
 "All user data on Mi Credit is stored securely in encrypted format in India through our partner Amazon Web Services Cloud Infrastructure," he said.
 Mi Credit has been running in India in a pilot format, and has already disbursed loans of over Rs 28 crore in November this year.
 Over 20 per cent of its users availed the highest amount of loan of Rs 1 lakh.
 Currently, Mi Credit services more than 10 states spanning across 1,500 pin codes, and aims to expand its availability to 100 per cent of the pin codes by the end of FY2019, Jain said.
 Mi Credit app will come pre-loaded on all MIUI phones, and can be downloaded from Google Play Store and GetApps, Xiaomi's own app store.
 Mi Pay is a UPI based payment app available on all MIUI phones, and can be downloaded from GetApps and Google Play Store. It was launched in India in March 2018, and within nine months has already captured over 20 million registered users.
 Hong Feng, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Xiaomi Corporation and Chairman and CEO, Xiaomi Finance said the company's Mi Finance business started four years ago in China.
 "Today, we have over 300 million Mi Fans in our global community and having understood their consumption behaviour - it is one of the strengths we aim to leverage to build a stronger Mi Finance business globally," he added. SR DRR

Xiaomi launches Mi Credit lending solution in India

<ul><li>The recent standoff at the Indo-China border has already seen a call for ban on Chinese products as well as uninstalling Chinese or Chinese-funded apps in India. </li><li>Experts believe that this will put a hold on further tech investments in India and thus, startups need to prepare themselves.</li><li><keyword id="417650" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-investors">Chinese investors</keyword> have pumped in an estimated $4 billion into India’s tech startups which includes bets on 18 out of the country’s 30 unicorns.</li></ul>From the India-China tensions at the border to the Indian government’s recent restrictions on FDI stating that prior government approval is required for any investment from a bordering country, the startup ecosystem has a lot to worry about. The rising scepticism about China and its investors affects some of the biggest startups in India like <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword>, Ola, Byju’s and more. China’s biggest funds and their bets in India <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tencent </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Byju’s, Ola, Dream11, Flipkart, Hike, Swiggy, Udaan, Niyo, Gaana, Doubtnut, Khatabook, MX Player, Pocket FM, Practo, MyGate. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Alibaba </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Paytm, Bigbasket, Paytm Mall, Snapdeal, Zomato, Healofy, Ticketnow, Rapido, Vidooly, Xpressbees </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Xiaomi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hungama, Sharechat, Rapido, ZestMoney, Oye! Rickshaw, City Mall, Marsplay Internet </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Gateway House Tensions at the borders and India’s tech ecosystem The recent standoff at the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/foreign-policy/news/three-reasons-why-china-showed-aggression-against-india-on-border-according-to-a-former-diplomat/articleshow/76462632.cms">Indo-China border</a> has already seen a call for ban on Chinese products as well as uninstalling Chinese or Chinese-funded apps in India. Experts believe that this will put a hold on further tech investments in India and thus, startups need to prepare themselves. “The immediate impact of this can be observed in business relations as well, with contract cancellations, trade deficit and fundings being put on hold. To mitigate this direct impact on the startup ecosystem, startups will have to scout for other avenues for big-ticket investments while seeking support from investors from newer geographies. Companies which fall under the portfolio of Chinese investors will also have to look for new alternatives as their transactions will get delayed due to these macro events,” said Roma Priya, Founder of Burgeon Law. Chinese investors have pumped in an estimated $4 billion into India’s tech startups which includes bets on 18 out of the country’s 30 unicorns, according to a Gateway House report. And even though some of India’s companies like Sharechat even have ‘<keyword id="3758" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Made-in-India">Made in India</keyword>’ in their Google Play store listing, the funding for the startup is from China. What makes <keyword id="417799" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-investment">Chinese investment</keyword> attractive? With India having the next big internet users, Chinese funds have been betting on the country’s virgin internet users and the lack of an Indian major investment fund only aids their growth. Most of India’s startups – from Paytm to Ola and Swiggy, Zomato – are still reporting heavy losses, which means they would require investments with minimal investor pressure. “China provides the patient capital needed to support the Indian start-ups, which like any other, are loss-making. The trade-off for market share is worthwhile,” said a report by Gateway House. The damage was done from even before the border clash Earlier in April, the change in FDI regulations said that prior approval of the Indian government will now be required for FDI into India (direct or indirect) by an entity of a country which shares a land border with India, i.e., China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Afghanistan. And this would have a direct impact on India’s startup ecosystem which relies on Chinese investments. “Chinese investors like Alibaba, Tencent and others will be heavily impacted. (i) Rights issuances; (ii) share buybacks; (iii) exits of existing investors from an Indian company which result in an increment in a Chinese investor’s stake will now require prior approval of the Indian government, although there may be no fresh inflow of FDI. Private equity and venture investors may not be able to effectively exercise call options, rights of first offer, anti-dilution or ratchet provisions.” said a report by the law firm Majmudar &amp; Partners. However, China has for long now routed its investments through subsidiary companies. “Chinese funds and companies often route their investments in India through offices located in Singapore, Hong Kong, Mauritius etc.: for example, Alibaba’s investment in Paytm was by Alibaba Singapore Holdings Pvt. Ltd. These don’t get recorded in India’s government data as Chinese investments,” said a report by Gateway House. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/heres-a-look-at-some-of-the-indian-smartphone-companies-that-could-make-a-comeback/slidelist/76465362.cms">Indian mobile companies that Boycott China campaign can bring back</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/here-are-the-five-books-that-will-help-you-decode-the-india-china-relations/articleshow/76462237.cms">Here are the five books that will help you decode the India China relations — beyond just the border dispute</a>

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Payments firm ZestMoney raises $50 million to test out insurance business

Kritti Bhalla

Paytm denies report that Ant Group may dump its stake worth almost $5 billion as India-China tension escalates

Sanchita Dash

Here’s how you can avail an instant loan from Mi Credit

BI India Tech Bureau

Smartphone makers Realme and Xiaomi will compete in the financial services market too

Sanchita Dash

Xiaomi launches Mi Credit lending solution in India

PTI

From Paytm to Byju’s to Dream11 ⁠— Chinese investors have big money in India’s biggest startups

Sanchita Dash