Fintech startup Mahagram partners with IndusInd Bank to nurture digital payments in rural India

A rural fintech company Mahagram partners with IndusInd Bank, with an aim to create a new-generation Indian bank to digitize the country’s payment ecosystem and provide a wider horizon to transact especially for its customers in rural India.

Mahagram was launched with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

The partnership between the two aims to boost financial inclusion, encourage socio-economic development, mitigate the risks of a shadow economy, and accelerate the growth of a cashless society, the official press statement said.

This association will also ensure the building of an efficient, reliable, and secure payment ecosystem, which will not only promote and encourage the use of e-payments methods but will also help merchants across the country to accept digital payments easily, making it more accessible for everyone.

“Our target will be to add 15 million small merchants to the UPI QR in this fiscal year. Going forward, our vision is to expand into other sectors, as we work to advance the full payment ecosystem and achieve financial inclusion in India,” Ram Shriram, CEO, Mahagram said in his comment.

Mahagram is a technology-driven fintech company that has enabled banking from the mom-and-pop store around the corner through fintech solutions. The company’s mission is to enable rural women to save money at the local Kirana stores, instead of traveling miles to the nearest bank branch.  

Manish Modi, Country Head - Corporate Banking, IndusInd Bank Ltd. said, “The work that Mahagram has done in India over the last few years has made a notable impact on the country’s financial service sector and driven greater levels of financial inclusion. We are very much looking forward to working with Mahagram to advance India’s digital transformation, beginning with the rural sector.”

Founded in June 2015, Mahagram aims to build India's largest network of last-mile retail points of sale, with the goal of allowing every Indian to benefit from financial inclusion, government initiatives, and increased access to basic products and services.