Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL) has announced a new milestone by becoming the first BFSI company to “go live” on all three core financial services – lending, insurance, and mutual fund investments, available on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.
This latest development will now be reinforcing Aditya Birla Capital’s commitment to leveraging India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in order to effectively “democratize open network access to financial products, especially in underserved markets, and enhance financial inclusion across the country.”
Through ONDC Network, various live Buyer Apps will be able to offer Aditya Birla Capital’s “personal loan, health insurance, and mutual funds to their customers.”
This offering simplifies customers’ financial journeys and ensures a seamless user experience by enabling them to “access financial products and services directly through the apps they use.”
This eliminates the need to download or “access multiple apps on their devices.”
Within the financial services space, ONDC has reportedly been “building the infrastructure for three broad segments of products – credit, insurance, and investments.”
Aditya Birla Finance Limited was one of the early “adopter lenders in the pilot phase of its credit integration.”
Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited and Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited are among the “first-level participants in integrating health insurance and mutual fund investments on the Network.”
By being a Wave-1 participant, Aditya Birla Capital has played “a pivotal role in developing the overall ONDC ecosystem” for financial services.
Ms. Vishakha Mulye, CEO, Aditya Birla Capital Limited said:
“In recent years, India’s Digital Public Infrastructure has expanded rapidly, establishing open and interoperable networks that facilitate seamless interactions among diverse stakeholders. Our integration with the ONDC Network will help us reach out to ‘Bharat’ to fulfill the financial needs and aspirations of consumers who may have previously lacked access to formal credit, insurance, and investment opportunities.”
She added:
“This will enable them to easily access and benefit from our comprehensive range of financial services. It is a significant milestone in our commitment to simplifying finance and making our offerings accessible to every Indian across the country.”
Mr. T. Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC, commented:
“Aditya Birla Capital’s integration across all three channels shows their commitment and faith on democratization of financial products. This integration marks a significant leap in making financial services more accessible and inclusive through the ONDC Network.”
By enabling financial products live via ONDC they are not only diversifying the types of services offered on the Network but “also making strides towards deepening financial inclusion in India which is in line with our overall vision and mandate of digital inclusion.”
ONDC is a Network of 200+ apps, including buyer apps and seller apps. Shoppers can “choose from one of the buyer apps to buy their desired products based on the categories of products those apps have enabled.”
Sellers can choose from one of the seller apps listed on the Network.
Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL) is the holding company for the financial services businesses of the Aditya Birla Group.
Through its subsidiaries/JVs, ABCL provides a suite of financial solutions across Loans, Investments, Insurance, and Payments to “serve the diverse needs of customers across their lifecycle.”
Powered with 55,000 employees, the businesses of ABCL have a nationwide reach with over 1,470 branches, “more than 2,00,000 agents/channel partners, and several bank partners.”
Aditya Birla Capital Limited is a part of the US$65 billion global conglomerate Aditya Birla Group
Anchored by a force of over 187,000 employees, belonging to 100 nationalities, the Group is built on “a strong foundation of stakeholder value creation.”
With over seven decades of responsible business practices, the Group’s businesses have grown to include a range of sectors – “from metals to cement, fashion to financial services, and textiles to trading.”
Today, over 50% of Group revenues flow from overseas operations that span 36 countries.
Incorporated on 31 December 2021, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a Section 8 company, is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, to create “a facilitative model that [enhances] digital commerce, giving greater thrust to penetration of retail e-commerce in India.”
