Handset maker Xiaomi discontinued its financial services business in India on Friday, the media has reported. As part of winding down its financial services in the country, Xiaomi has removed its Mi Credit and Mi Pay apps from its own app store and the local Play Store, said a report by TechCrunch.
Launched in 2019 in India by Xiaomi, Mi Pay had witnessed over 20 million registered users in the country that year itself, according to the handset maker's executives at the time.
ABP Live has approached Xiaomi India for a comment. This report will be updated if a response is received.
The abrupt discontinuation of the financial services business is a setback for Xiaomi India, which commands the smartphone market in India and has aggressively expanded its product offerings to increase profits as the company’s hardware business operates on razor-thin margins, the TechCrunch report added.
Later in 2019, the company launched Mi Credit, which is an app that lent customers between $70 to $1,400 at low-interest rates. Initially launched in May 2018 and then relaunched on December 2019, Mi Credit is an online curated marketplace for lending, and offers personal loans.
To recall, amid growing competition from the likes of rival Samsung, Xiaomi India in June announced a major leadership change. It announced company veteran Alvin Tse as the new General Manager of its business in India and also announced bringing back Anuj Sharma to Xiaomi India as its Chief Marketing Officer.
The management rejig at Xiaomi India also came amid the ongoing tussle with Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged tax evasion and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations. The former face of Xiaomi, Manu Kumar Jain, after seven years in India, transitioned to a global role as the Group Vice President and he is currently responsible for Xiaomi's International Strategy including International Marketing and PR.
This story is being updated.