Business Standard

This Diwali season, Pine Labs, a merchant platform company, is enabling equated monthly instalments (EMIs) on debit card-based offline transactions from HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. This is the first time that 25 million non-credit card customers will be able to instantly convert their in-store purchase into easy monthly instalments. Debit card EMIs have been enabled at over 36,000 stores across 1,500 cities in India for electronics and consumer durables.

In addition to the above two banks, the company is in talks with other top banks to expand this service to more and more customers who swipe at Pine Labs' merchant network.

Kush Mehra, President, Pine Labs, said, "Making shopping affordable for everyone has always been our focus. Extending EMI facility to debit card holders will not only help consumers but also expand the reach of our merchants and our brand partners."

"At HDFC, we strive to not just be a life cycle brand but also a lifestyle brand that understands the needs and aspirations of our customers and provides them an opportunity to fulfil them. EMI on debit cards is one such opportunity. Our partnership with Pine Labs is definitely a game changer as it will now offer customers a hassle-free and instant way to avail credit," said Parag Rao, Country Head - Card Payment Products, Merchant Acquiring Services & Marketing, HDFC Bank.

Sanjeev Moghe, EVP & Head - Cards & Merchant Acquiring Business, Axis Bank, added, "Affordability will be a key element this upcoming festive season. As the festive buying commences, enablement of debit card EMI option on Pine Labs' terminals will make shopping more affordable for a large group of customers who don't have credit cards."

Debit card EMI services are available for a selected group of customers who are pre-approved by partner banks.

About Pine Labs
Pine Labs is incorporated in Singapore and has its largest operations in India. It is a merchant platform company that provides financing and last-mile retail transaction technology. Pine Labs' offerings are currently used by over 1,00,000 merchants in 3,700 cities and towns across India and Malaysia. Its investors include Sequoia Capital, PayPal, Temasek, Actis Capital and Altimeter Capital. To know more, please visit http://www.pinelabs.