Xiaomi, a smartphone manufacturer, reportedly stopped offering banking services in India on Friday. Xiaomi India claims that it has stopped offering financial services in the nation in order to concentrate on its primary business activities. Mi stopped the Mi Financial Offerings in March 2022 as a result of the yearly strategy evaluation activities and to better focus on their core business services. Throughout this process, they are collaborating with their partners and provide assistance to the customers. In the future, their aim is to keep bringing the most cutting-edge technology and innovation to everyone through their products and services.
According to TechCrunch, Xiaomi has withdrawn its Mi Credit and Mi Pay applications from both its own app store and the local Play Store as part of its plan to wind down its financial services in the nation. According to Xiaomi officials at the time, when Mi Pay was introduced in India in 2019, the nation already had over 20 million registered customers. The business later, in 2019, released Mi Credit, an app that offered clients low-interest loans ranging from $70 to $1,400. Mi Credit is an online lending marketplace, within its financial services that specializes in personal loans. It was first established in May 2018 and later revived in December 2019. Recall that Xiaomi India announced a significant leadership shift in June amid increased competition from companies like competitor Samsung. It also announced the return of Anuj Sharma, formerly of Poco India, to Xiaomi India as its Chief Marketing Officer. The company veteran Alvin Tse will serve as the new General Manager of its operations in India. Amidst the continuing legal dispute with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over suspected tax evasion and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) breaches, Xiaomi India also saw a management shake-up and finally winded up its financial services. After seven years in India, Manu Kumar Jain, the previous face of Xiaomi, moved to a worldwide position as the Group Vice President. He is now in charge of Xiaomi’s international strategy, which includes international marketing and PR. Xiaomi has not yet provided an explanation for why it decided to stop offering financial services in India. But it does so at a time when India’s national bank, the Reserve Bank of India, RBI, has enacted strict guidelines for lending in the nation. Additionally, Xiaomi was the focus of the extensive federal investigation. Xiaomi India’s bank accounts were frozen by the Indian Enforcement Directorate when it was discovered that the company had sent $725 million to three overseas organizations as royalties. Executives of the corporation, however, denied these accusations and legally opposed the proceedings. In light of these problems, questions about the company’s future in India have been raised by the termination of its banking services. Because it has a firm grip on the nation’s smartphone market, we will have to wait for more clarity from Xiaomi’s side. Xiaomi India explained the change as being made “to strengthen concentrate on our core business offerings” in a statement to IANS. “In March 2022, we closed the Mi Financial Services. We were able to connect and assist thousands of clients in only four short years. Throughout this process, we are collaborating with our partners and providing support to our customers “, according to a business spokeswoman. According to Xiaomi India, “our goods and services in the future” will continue to deliver the newest technology and innovation to everyone. Mi Credit was an online lending marketplace that was carefully selected to provide personal loans to Mi Fans. It was initially established in May 2018 and later revived on December 3, 2019.
According to the business, during the trial phase, which ran until November 2019, personal loans of up to Rs 28 crore were given. Later, it disclosed, using its digital lending solution in India, loans totaling more than Rs 125 crore have been granted as of December 2019. In the third quarter of this year, the business dominated the Indian smartphone market. As the brand gained impetus from July’s online sales ahead of the festival season, Xiaomi maintained its top spot with 9.2 million devices, according to a survey by market research firm Canalys.
