Walmart, Flipkart, PhonePe and the Walmart Foundation leverage

Walmart, Flipkart, PhonePe and the Walmart Foundation leverage global resources to scale initiatives in support of India’s pandemic battle

Walmart is mobilizing its global resources to further expand support for COVID-19 relief efforts in India. Walmart, the Walmart Foundation, Flipkart and PhonePe, along with Walmart’s Global Technology and Sourcing hubs, are collaborating to counter oxygen shortages, support the national vaccination drive and donate to organizations making a difference in communities nationwide.

“Walmart is a global family. We feel the impact of this devastating surge on our associates, families and friends across India, and it’s important that we come together to support however we can,” said Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart Inc. “We feel called to bring our resources to bear in times of crisis, and this moment is no different. We are working hard to combine Walmart’s global capabilities and Flipkart’s distribution network to ensure vital oxygen and supplies are made available to those who need them most. Our hearts are with everyone in India.”

To help India meet its urgent need for medical-grade oxygen, Walmart businesses worldwide are working together to procure vital oxygen concentrators and other equipment. Walmart will donate up to 20 oxygen-generating plants and 20 cryogenic containers for oxygen storage and transportation, as well as more than 3,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 oxygen cylinders for delivering oxygen therapy to patients at home or in hospital. These are being sourced globally and will be donated to hospitals and NGOs in India for distribution. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have also committed to fund an additional 2,500 oxygen concentrators as part of the U.S.-India Business Council and U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum’s joint relief effort.

Extending these efforts, the Walmart Foundation is donating INR 148.2 million (USD $2 million) to support various NGOs in India. A total of about INR 74.1 million (USD $1 million) will be allocated through the Walmart Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, a donor advised fund, to recommend support for Doctors for You to operate isolation centers and temporary hospitals, as well as provide personal protective equipment for frontline medical workers. The other INR 74.1 million (USD $1 million) will be allocated to GIVE Foundation Inc to support GiveIndia’s COVID response fund, which will support physical infrastructure and equipment for the medical sector in India, prioritizing the most impacted and vulnerable communities.

Walmart, Flipkart and PhonePe continue to step up efforts to encourage COVID-19 vaccination, including setting up on-site vaccination clinics, at no cost, for associates and their households, as well as Flipkart and PhonePe’s full-time contractors and delivery workers – more than 200,000 people. Associates will continue to receive expanded sick leave if they become ill or must self-isolate, time off to get the vaccine or tested and expanded compassionate care leave to care for ill family members.

Flipkart is also partnering with GiveIndia to raise funds to provide critical medical supplies such as oxygen, PPE kits, hand sanitizers and other essentials at COVID-19 centers, charitable hospitals and for healthcare workers in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. In addition, Flipkart customers can now use their SuperCoins (loyalty points) to donate directly toward ambulance services and oxygen cylinder refills that GiveIndia will mobilize to help those in critical need.

Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart, said: “Through the pandemic, we have endeavored to meet the needs of our customers while supporting our business partners through a safe supply chain and reliable platform. We and our colleagues at PhonePe are committed to doing our bit to help people in this challenging time, leveraging our logistics capabilities and mobilizing resources towards the most critical needs of patients and healthcare professionals. As people and corporations come together to gather resources to fight the pandemic, we remain steadfast in our belief that we will get through this together.”

Previously, Walmart, Flipkart Group and the Walmart Foundation have provided INR 460 million ($6.2 million) in financial and in-kind support in India, including over 1 million PPE and CPE gowns, 600,000 N95 masks and 88 ventilators, among other contributions.

Walmart Canada will also support relief efforts through the Canadian Red Cross India COVID-19 Response Appeal, funding ambulance and transport services for patients, quarantine isolation centers and other services.

ICICI Bank and PhonePe partner to issue

 

ICICI Bank and PhonePe partner to issue FASTag

·         First bank to integrate with PhonePe for issuance of FASTag

ICICI Bank and PhonePe today announced their partnership for the issuance of FASTags using UPI on the PhonePe App. This integration allows over 280 million registered PhonePe users to order and track the ICICI Bank FASTag conveniently on the app. PhonePe users, who may be customers of any bank, will have a fully digitised experience as they don’t have to visit physical stores or toll locations to buy a FASTag. ICICI Bank is the first bank to partner with PhonePe for the issuance of FASTag.

FASTag is a brand name owned by Indian Highways Management Company Ltd. (IHMCL), which carries out electronic tolling and other ancillary projects of National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI). National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), IHMCL and NHAI are working together to make state and national highway toll payments completely digital.

 

Speaking on the collaboration, Mr. Sudipta Roy, Head - Unsecured Assets, ICICI Bank said, “We are delighted to partner with PhonePe and NPCI to facilitate increased digital adoption of FASTag in the ecosystem. This collaboration enables millions of PhonePe customers to easily apply for a new FASTag and get it delivered free of cost at their doorstep. The association comes in handy, even for users, who are not customers of ICICI Bank, as it allows them to order and later recharge with the convenience of UPI. With this, ICICI Bank has achieved another feat in the FASTag ecosystem. We have an extensive association with FASTag from its inception, as we were first to launch it nationally on the Mumbai – Vadodara corridor. Since then, we have endeavoured to expand its usage with digital availability and innovative solutions like parking fee collection at GMR Hyderabad International Airport and at Tech Parks & malls in Gurugram; Trivandrum and Vizag. Our market leadership in value and volume of average daily transactions on FASTag is a testimony of the trust that customers have shown in our rollout. We believe that our latest tie-up with PhonePe will go a long way to make availability of FASTag even more convenient, digital and frictionless.”

 

Commenting on the development, Mr. Deep Agrawal, Head - Payments, PhonePe said, “We are excited to partner with ICICI Bank to enable millions of PhonePe users to directly purchase FASTag on our platform in a seamless and convenient manner. FASTag has been instrumental in digitizing the transit payments sector. We have already seen a phenomenal response from our users recharging FASTag on our platform, with millions of customers recharging daily on the app. In fact, FASTag recharge has witnessed a 145% growth over the last 3 months indicating increased intercity travel as markets opened up post the lockdown.  We are confident that with PhonePe’s reach, superior payment and user experience, we will enable millions of consumers to purchase and use FASTag across the country.”

Sharing NPCI’s perspective Mr. Denny Thomas, Head NETC & AEPS, NPCI said, “The partnership of PhonePe and ICICI Bank will definitely increase the adoption of NETC FASTag and facilitate its doorstep delivery to the customers. We believe that this initiative will further deepen the penetration of FASTag across the country and provide the users with a seamless recharge experience through the PhonePe app. Customers have realised the importance of contactless electronic toll payments and with the increase in acceptance of FASTag at various State and City toll plazas, the retail customers are now looking forward for the same seamless experience in parking and other use case.”

PhonePe users can buy ICICI Bank FASTag by following a few simple steps. The users need to go to the PhonePe app’s homepage and click on ‘ICICI Bank FASTag’ (under My Money and Switch section) and click on ‘Buy new FASTag’. Then they just need to enter the basic details such as PAN, Vehicle Number before making the payment. The FASTag will be delivered to the customers’ doorstep which can be affixed on the vehicle windshield and then be used instantly.

For news and updates, visit www.icicibank.com and follow us on Twitter at  www.twitter.com/ICICIBank

Star Health Insurance partners with PhonePe to offer

Star Health Insurance partners with PhonePe to offer Digital Health Insurance

 ·      PhonePe will offer Star’s Arogya Sanjeevani Health insurance product on their platform through this tie-up

·      No requirements of paperwork and no health screenings required to avail policy

·         PhonePe digital platform will enable easier access to health insurance across India

Star Health and Allied Insurance, a leading standalone health Insurance company in India, today announced the launch of its Arogya Sanjeevani policy on PhonePe - a popular Indian digital payments platform. All PhonePe users can now protect their families from financial burdens in the event of any medical emergency. The policy is available at an annual premium of only Rs. 2985/- (excluding GST) for sum insured of Rs. 1 lakh.

Star Health’s Arogya Sanjeevani policy is a highly beneficial and an affordable health insurance policy. This policy has been designed to cover the most essential aspects of any instance of hospitalization in the family. The policy covers anyone up to 65 years with sum insured options up to Rs. 10 lakh. Arogya Sanjeevani policy comes with several advantages such as covering all day care procedures, lifelong renewals, cumulative bonus, Cataract treatment and Ayush Treatment to the limit of sum insured. Star Health has tie up with over 10,200+ hospitals across India as part of its cashless network where its customers can avail hassle free claim services.

Through PhonePe’s digital platform, both partners are aiming to provide easy accessibility to its Arogya Sanjeevani health insurance policy, especially to the millennials. PhonePe users can instantly avail this policy without any medical screening through the PhonePe app within a few easy clicks.