Flex By Google Pay: Google Partners With Axis Bank to Introduce UPI-Powered, Digital Credit Card

Google has introduced Flex by Google Pay, a new digital credit initiative designed to simplify how people access everyday transactional credit in India. Built on the RuPay network and integrated within the Google Pay app, Flex offers a digital co-branded credit card experience, combining the flexibility of a unified payments interface (UPI) with a credit line. The first product under this brand is the Google Pay Flex Axis Bank Credit Card, launched in partnership with Axis Bank and available through the Google Pay app.

Flex by Google Pay: Details and Features

In a blog post, the Mountain View-based tech giant announced its credit line product dubbed Flex by Google Pay, as well as the first credit card in partnership with Axis Bank. Stating that only 50 million credit card holders exist in India, the company claims that the initiative was created to address users' access to credit.

Put simply, Flex is a UPI-powered, digital co-branded credit card that lives entirely in the Google Pay app. Users can apply for the card from within the app in minutes without any physical paperwork and start using it as soon as approval is granted. Built on the RuPay network, it can be used for payments across millions of offline and online merchants that accept RuPay, just like regular UPI transactions.

As per the tech giant, Flex offers several features that streamline the credit experience. First is the application and approval, which is handled entirely digitally (Google says it only takes a few minutes). Due to the RuPay integration, payments made using the credit card will be accepted across a wide range of online and offline stores.

Google Pay and Axis Bank are also offering a reward system, where users earn “stars” for making transactions. The company says each star has a value of Re. 1, and can be redeemed immediately during any future transaction. And, just like traditional credit cards, the Flex card also offers a flexible repayment option where users can either pay in full or convert their bills into EMIs. Further, users also get in-app controls, such as transaction limits, blocking and unblocking the card, or resetting the PIN.

Flex by Google Pay is rolling out today, and the company plans to make it widely available to users in the coming months. For now, interested individuals can join the waitlist within the UPI app.