Mukesh Ambani has five critical milestones for Jio Financial Services

Reliance Industries caused quite a stir when it carved out Jio Financial Services (JFS). The non-banking financial company (NBFC) is now looking at its first big milestone: the launch of the Jio Finance App in a beta version on the iOS and Play Store.

This app consolidates the offerings of the JFS group, providing a digital, simple, and unified platform to distribute financial products to consumers. This is in addition to the merchant app launched six months ago.

“With both these apps in place, we believe we have now created a vital digital channel to reach our target customers,” Hitesh Sethia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of JFS, told investors. It already has half a million downloads, he added.

JFS, dubbed the ‘fourth engine’ after oil, telecom, and retail, aims to leverage its established consumer-facing retail and telecom operations to build a financial services supermarket.

Formerly known as Reliance Strategic Investments, JFS is positioned as a large NBFC. It operates as a holding company with a web of consumer-centric subsidiaries and associate firms in areas like lending, payment processing, insurance broking, and asset management. In fact, it recently received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India for converting Jio Financial Services from an NBFC to a Core Investment Company.

The company is also working towards accelerating its secured lending proposition. It has launched loans against mutual funds for its customers. “We are progressing with home loans, which are currently in a sandbox, and slated for consumer launch post our beta phase,” he evealed.

It has also started its operating lease business with AirFiber devices. The company’s DaaS (device as a service) model for consumer devices (AirFiber, phone, laptop) is expected to create an altogether new market as it is not something large NBFCs or banks have done so far.

Jio Payments Bank, post the digital revamp, has seen adding over a million current and savings accounts (CASA). “With the revamped tech stack, the Jio Payments Bank can now open a digital savings account for its customers online in only a few minutes,” said Sethia. The bank also offers a virtual Rupay platinum debit card. This digital savings account, though in its very nascent phase, has garnered over a million active customers to date.

Last year, JFS sealed a deal with the world’s biggest AMC, BlackRock, for a 50:50 joint venture in the asset management space. BlackRock is a dominant player in passive investment, with its exchange traded funds (ETFs) are very popular globally. “We have identified top talent and are focused on integrating advanced technology platform solutions to deliver superior asset management services. Our process with the regulator for the necessary approvals is well underway,” said Sethia.

Over the past three quarters as a listed company, JFS has been working on multiple fronts. The key pillars include establishing a robust governance and policy framework, hiring and integrating top talent across all operational levels, and implementing a modern, cost-effective technology and data architecture. These initiatives are designed to enable rapid product launches and scalable distribution.

With over two decades of experience, Sethia played a key role in expanding ICICI Bank’s presence globally, being a founding member of the bank's Canadian and German operations. He was also assigned senior roles in the UK and Hong Kong branches of the private bank. In his last role with the Mumbai-headquartered bank, Sethia led the transaction banking division.