Jio, SBI Expand Payments Bank Partnership; Bring SBI YONO App to MyJio

Jio on Thursday announced an expansion of its digital partnership with SBI. To recall, Jio and SBI are joint partners in the Jio Payments Bank, which commenced operations earlier this year; while the former has 70 percent stake in the JV, the latter has the remaining 30 percent. The expanded partnership will see the MyJio app offer SBI’s YONO digital banking app, over and above the Jio Payments Bank itself. The partnership will also see the telco providing SBI customers with special offers to purchase the Jio Phone, while the telco will provide the bank with connectivity solutions that will enable video banking and other on-demand services.

Apart from the availability of SBI YONO app on the MyJio platform, Jio and SBI customers can now avail benefits of Jio Prime, a consumer engagement and commerce platform. Prime users will be offered deals from Reliance Retail, Jio, as well as partners. The existing SBI Rewardz loyalty programme will also be integrated into Prime, giving SBI customers additional loyalty rewards and broader redemption. As we mentioned, Jio Phones will be available on special offers for SBI customers, however, details of these offers have not yet been disclosed.

Speaking on the partnership, Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI said, “As India’s largest bank with leadership in digital banking, we are delighted to partner with Jio the world’s largest network. All the areas of co-operation are mutually beneficial enhancing the digital foot-print for SBI customers with superior and rewarding customer experiences.”

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Limited said, “The scale of the SBI customer base is unmatched globally. Jio is committed to using its superior network and platforms combined with the Retail ecosystem to accelerate digital adoption serving all the needs for SBI’s and Jio’s customers.”

Will Jio Phone 2 help WhatsApp, YouTube reach the next billion users in India? We discussed that on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.