Google taps India’s love for gold to boost its credit play | TechCrunch

Google is leveraging India’s deep-rooted affinity for gold to expand its reach in the lending market of the world’s most populous nation.

The company said on Thursday that Google Pay has partnered with Muthoot Finance, India’s largest gold-backed loans provider, to offer secured loans to users across the country. 

Google said the move aims to broaden credit accessibility in a market where traditional lending often falls short. Despite the progress made by financial inclusion initiatives, access to credit remains a challenge for many Indians who lack profiles with local credit bureaus.  

Gold holds unique significance in India, with about 1 billion people spending roughly ₹1 trillion annually on gold imports — equivalent to more than one-fifth of global mine output, according to HSBC. 

Unlike China, a sizeable portion of this demand comes from lower-income households, and many Indians already own gold, allowing them to secure credit at lower interest rates.

A gold-backed solution is crucial to expand credit accessibility in India, said Sharath Bulusu, director of product management for Google Pay, in an interview with TechCrunch. Google’s initiative taps into the cultural and economic importance of gold, potentially opening new avenues for millions to access formal credit, he added.

This move comes after Google partnered up with Indian banks and other lenders to offer loans to individuals and merchants via the Google Pay app last year. The company on Thursday said it has also partnered with Aditya Birla Finance, one of the largest non-banking financial companies in India, to expand credit accessibility.

Google Pay is among the most popular payment apps in India. It processes more than 37% of the 15 billion monthly transactions on UPI, a payments rail built by a coalition of Indians banks. UPI is the most popular way Indians transact online.

Google said it has extended credit to Google Pay users in 13,500 zip codes in India, reaching 70% of the country. 80% of the loans it has disbursed were to users living in smaller Indian cities and towns, the company said.

More to follow…