Desperate times at Ola Financial
Ola’s financial services arm has been struggling to stay relevant lately, but Bhavish Aggarwal hasn’t given up on his fintech ambitions yet.
Why read this story?
Editor's note: At some point, Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal dreamt of building a conglomerate of businesses combining tech and mobility. Starting as a ride-hailing business, the company over the years expanded to food and grocery delivery, financial services and used-car sales. But like many of its verticals, Ola’s financial services arm is also struggling to survive. Ola made a foray into financial services in 2015, when it acquired digital wallet company ZipCash Card Services. After rebranding the company as Ola Financial Services, it launched four products over the next few years. These included a digital wallet called OlaMoney, a short-term credit line to customers called OlaMoney Postpaid, a ride insurance option and a co-branded credit card in partnership with SBI Cards. As the cab aggregator business grew in the following years, so did the number of customers using fintech products. But the company has run into trouble over the past two years. First, its revenue nosedived in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, Ola’s lack of efforts to grow the digital wallet and postpaid business after the first year …
More in Internet
You may also like
Preparing for 2026
Subjects expected to dominate our conversation in the new year and some reflection on things that happened in 2025, now that it is almost behind us.
RBI wants IndusInd Bank promoters, the Hindujas, cut to size
After successive controversies and growing unease over promoter influence, the central bank is reshaping the lender—starting with management, moving to its board and tightening the screws on ownership.
How India’s retail shareholders are being left holding the can
Swiggy and Ola Electric’s plans to return to the public markets soon after big-bang IPOs leave investors with dilution, little prospect of returns and plenty of questions.
