Spice Money partners with Axis Bank to push financial inclusion in rural India

New Delhi: Fintech player Spice Money has partnered with private sector lender Axis Bank to facilitate opening of instant, zero balance savings or current accounts for rural citizens through its Adhikari network.

Through this association, Spice Money aims to bridge the rural-urban divide and bring financial inclusivity by providing access to banking products to the last mile at their doorstep, thereby financially empowering thousands of rural citizens living in the hinterlands of India, founder of the fintech firm Dilip Modi said.

"This move is aimed at creating a widespread impact, bringing cutting-edge banking services to the doorsteps of Bharat," he said.

The Spice Money network, comprising more than 10 lakh Adhikaris, covers more than 18,000 pin codes, 700 districts and 5,000 blocks, serving over 10 crore households.

A regulated entity under the Reserve Bank of India, the fintech firm delivers various financial services such as cash deposit and withdrawal, insurance premium, bill payments and loans to the rural masses.

Recently, the company has come on board the government-promoted e-commerce platform ONDC to facilitate smaller merchants in rural locations.

By onboarding ONDC (Open Network Digital Commerce), Adhikaris of Spice Money will act as facilitators to other smaller merchants in their localities, who otherwise do not have access to e-commerce platforms to sell their products to a wider segment of buyers, he said.

ONDC was incorporated in December last year by the commerce ministry aimed at creating a facilitative model to revolutionise digital commerce, giving greater thrust to penetration of retail e-commerce in India.

Spice Money said the current market penetration of e-commerce, in terms of the overall economy, is at 8 per cent. With ONDC, it is expected to grow to 25 per cent in the next two years.