The fintech sector has spearheaded the unprecedented growth of the Indian start-up ecosystem, and like English skipper Joe Root, it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Digital payments start-ups have reaped the benefits of the focus on online transactions, and today PhonePe has finally received an Insurance Broking license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
This comes after the fintech giant had received the green light from the RBI to operate as an account aggregator.
The company had entered the insurance sector last year as a “corporate agent” and has been launching products across general insurance, term insurance, and health insurance. Now, Flipkart’s PhonePe will be able to distribute policies from all companies across different categories, helping it bring in diversity in its offerings of insurance products while simultaneously offering recommendations to its users. The start-up has over 300 million users to date.
Since last year, the focus has been on digital transactions as the pandemic confined people to their homes and forced banks to close for a long time. This has been a boon for fintech start-ups in the country. In fact, Paytm filed for a massive $2.2 billion IPO this July. Other fintech start-ups have caught up as well, with raising record capital from investors and making acquisitions.
“This license is a big milestone in our insurance journey. PhonePe is India’s fastest growing insurtech and this move to broking will give us further momentum and accelerate our growth in this space. We are building a robust, full-service platform for our deeply engaged customer base through innovative products in partnership with high-quality insurers. This move will lead us closer to our goal of becoming a one-stop destination for all the insurance needs of our customers,” Gunjan Ghai, Vice President and Head of Insurance at PhonePe said.
PhonePe has reaped the benefits of the booming start-up sector as well, evolving into one of the leading online payments facilitators of the country. The start-up allows users to make online transactions like transferring money using UPI, recharging phone numbers, and paying bills in a simple and effective manner. Now, it aims to become a full-fledged financial services provider.
