Google Pay launches its first credit card with Axis Bank in India
The launch comes amid rising competition among fintechs and payments firms seeking to tap India’s underpenetrated credit market, particularly among younger consumers and first-time credit users.
Google Pay has launched its first credit card anywhere in the world, debuting the co-branded product in India as the Alphabet Inc-owned payments platform expands deeper into consumer credit.
The card, branded Flex by Google Pay, is issued in partnership with Axis Bank and operates on India’s RuPay network, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday. The launch marks Google Pay’s first entry into the credit card market globally through a co-branded arrangement with a local lender.
The product is embedded within the Google Pay app and allows users to apply for the card digitally, manage transactions, earn and redeem rewards, and choose from flexible repayment options.
“Introducing Flex by Google Pay, a UPI-powered, digital, co-branded credit card designed to simplify and elevate the entire card experience for India’s financial needs,” Sharath Bulusu, senior director of product management at Google Pay, said in the post.
India is a key market for Google Pay, which ranks among the country’s largest payments apps by transaction volume. While UPI-based payments have scaled rapidly, they generate limited direct revenue, prompting platforms to explore adjacent financial products such as loans and credit cards.
Axis Bank, one of India’s largest private-sector lenders, will be the first issuing partner for the Flex card. Google Pay said it plans to expand the offering to additional banking partners in the future.
The launch comes amid rising competition among fintechs and payments firms seeking to tap India’s underpenetrated credit market, particularly among younger consumers and first-time credit users. Credit card ownership in India remains significantly lower than in developed economies despite widespread adoption of digital payments.
Earlier this year, Google Pay's rival PhonePe teamed up with HDFC Bank to launch two co-branded credit cards. In fact, nine out of the top ten UPI apps have a co-branded credit card play of some kind. CRED also launched a RuPay co-branded card with IndusInd Bank.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan