Oxigen to expand its retail network through Oxigen-Luup deal

Along with the signing of a service

agreement with Luup, a mobile payment company, Oxigen Services plans

to expand its channel network from the existing figure of 75,000 to

2,00,000 by 2011. “With this deal, we expect to expand our business

rapidly in the virtual payments and distribution space using the Web

and mobile-based technologies. Our retail network base is growing

all across the country at the rate of 2,000 to 3,000 new retailers

per month,” said Pramod Saxena, Chairman and MD, Oxigen Services.

Through this partnership, Oxigen's

75,000 strong retail networks will become part of an extended local

and international payments gateway. “With this combined effort,

Oxigen can expand its business reach overseas with Luup's

international partners, such as retail banks, exchange houses,

payroll providers and money transfer organizations,” said Saxena.


As per the deal, Oxigen will use Luup's

mobile money technology platform and services to run all of Oxigen's

bank-orientated mobile financial services, which will help it grow

revenues. It is expected that the new services will be scalable,

secure and user-friendly to benefit both end-users and bank kiosk

agents.


This partnership will simplify one of

the biggest remittance corridors by offering easy and simple access to

mobile money to

about 400 million people across rural India, thus providing a push

towards financial inclusion. India receives more than $50 billion

annually in remittances from Overseas Indians, out of which

approximately $25 billion is from Gulf countries alone. “This new

low cost mobile-based money transfer service will benefit their

Indian families who will now be able to receive money into the No

Frill Accounts opened at Oxigen SBI Banking Kiosks in their

neighborhood,” said Saxena.