Mumbai, February 27 Jio Financial Services announced on Friday the expansion of its app to function as a marketplace, which will also sell products from third-party companies.
The new JioFinance app, powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural networks, will eventually create a "financial score" for users and advise them on various aspects of managing their finances, top officials said.
"We want to reimagine the distribution of financial services with the new features in the app," said JFS Managing Director and Chief Executive Hitesh Sethia.
The app has been running for over a year and has over 20 million users. Starting Friday, the company will be launching the "public closed user group" with the new features for a wider range of people.
The app is designed to operate in a conversational way, where users can type in queries or requirements, and it will offer tailor-made alternatives for a range of financial products, including credit cards, personal loans, home loans, mutual fund investments, and insurance, on a single platform.
The company has partnered with over 50 credit card companies and 90 insurance products to be made available on the platform, he added, noting that the broader Reliance ecosystem, which helps it reach up to 700 million Indians, will be utilized to reach out to people.
Emphasizing that the app complies with privacy laws, Sethia said that the app will work with user consent whenever needed to offer the best alternative product to people.
Aiming for a win-win model for all, Sethia said that the app will seek to offer the best-priced deals for customers, lower distribution costs for suppliers, and eventually lead to better business for the app itself.
Refusing to share any specific business targets with the revamped offerings, Sethia said that like any other business, it will have to stand on its own.
In a few months, plans are underway to create a "personal CFO" for users by assessing their finances based on savings, investments, and protection across the ecosystem, and also offering advice on corrective actions in portfolios as deemed necessary.
Sethia said that the app is hosted by JFS' wholly-owned subsidiary, Jio Finance Platform and Service, which has a registered Investment Advisor (RIA) license from Sebi.
