JioFinancial unveils app for banking services, money management

Jio Financial Services Ltd on Thursday launched the "JioFinance" app in beta mode.

The app integrates digital banking, UPI transactions, bill settlements, and insurance advisory. It also offers a consolidated view of accounts and savings. Jio says users can instantly open a bank account and seamlessly manage it.

"Our end goal is to simplify everything related to finance in a single platform for any user across all demographics, with a comprehensive suite of offerings like lending, investment, insurance, payments & transactions and make financial services more transparent, affordable and intuitive," the company said in a statement.

Future expansions include loan solutions, starting with mutual fund loans and progressing to home loans.

Jio Financial, which spun out of Reliance Group last year, has no discernible business model, yet its stock price has has seen multiple rallies since August last year.

In April, Jio Financial Services announced that it has signed a joint venture with American financial heavyweight BlackRock to provide wealth management and brokerage services in India, building on their formative partnership with an asset management company.

Earlier, the companies had formed a 50:50 joint venture—Jio BlackRock—to offer investment solutions to the Indian market. The entities are targeting an initial investment of $150 million each in the JV.

The new firm is aiming for a digital-first offering to democratise access to investment solutions for investors in India, it said.

As per a recent Reuters report, Jio Financial Services is seeking shareholder approval to purchase equipment worth $4.33 billion from Reliance Industries' retail division as the financial services provider plans to enter the device leasing business.

Jio Financial Services is led by Hitesh Kumar Sethia who was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director in April.

Adani Group, a competitor of its parent Reliance Group, is also planning to enter digital payment services. The group is reportedly in the final stages of launching a co-branded credit card and is considering applying for a licence to operate on the unified payments interface (UPI) network, according to a report by The Financial Times.