MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Financial Information Networks and Operation (FINO) Purchases Mobile Payment Business from Nokia

Financial Information Networks and Operation (FINO), an Indian for-profit technology provider to microbanks and other financial service providers, reportedly has purchased the Indian mobile payment services business of Nokia, a Finnish handset provider, for an undisclosed amount of cash. The transaction will give FINO the opportunity to enter the mobile payment business, a market which has been predicted to reach USD 350 million by 2015. According to a statement attributed to FINO Chief Executive Officer Manish Khera, the company was previously limited to banking and financial services such as operating bank accounts, selling insurance and facilitating remittances, but now is able to enter the expenditure side of the business. FINO was reportedly planning to launch its own mobile payments service before Nokia decided to exit the sector in a strategy to divest from “non-core businesses.”

The newly acquired mobile payment services business reportedly has 700,000 to 800,000 customers and held a monthly turnover of approximately INR 10,000,000 (USD 178,000) before entering a “dormant period” while Nokia looked for buyers. Nokia reported total assets of USD 46.9 billion in 2011.

By Charlotte Newman, Research Associate

About Financial Information Networks and Operations (FINO)
Financial Information Networks and Operation (FINO) is an Indian for-profit company that provides technological products to microfinance institutions (MFIs), banks and insurance companies. Its products include management software for microloans and biometric smartcards that store transaction records. The company was founded in 2006 and serves 43 million enrolled customers served through the financial institutions that use its products. In 2012, the firm acquired the Indian mobile money arm of Finnish mobile handset provider Nokia including the subsidiary’s 750,000 customers.

Sources and Additional Resources:

The Times of India: Fino Buys Nokia’s Mobile Payment Services Business,” http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-27/telecom/32440789_1_financial-inclusion-finnish-handset-maker-bank-accounts

MicroCapital.org story, January 19, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Advising FINO in Effort to Extend Services to 100m Indians Over 3 Years,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ifc-advising-fino-in-effort-to-extend-financial-services-to-100m-indians-over-3-years/

MicroCapital.org story, April 26, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEED Financial Services, Financial Network and Operations Limited (FINO), A Little World Seek Private Equity Funding to Scale Up Business Correspondent Operations in India,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-seed-financial-services-financial-information-network-and-operations-limited-fino-a-little-world-seek-private-equity-funding-to-scale-up-business-correspondent-operations-in-in/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Financial Information Networks and Operations (FINO)
http://microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Financial+Information+Networks+and+Operation+%28FINO%29

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

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