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.