Google for India 2024: Google Pay now offers gold-backed loans in India

Google Pay update: Google hosted the 10th edition of its Google for India event in India today wherein it announced major updates to its Google Pay app. The company today said that Google Pay subscribers will now be able to avail gold-backed loans in India. 

"Around 11% of the world’s total gold is held by Indian households. Now with gold-backed loans available on Google Pay, this latent asset can be mobilized for economic activity," the company wrote in a release.

The company said that it has partnered with the Muthoot Finance to bring gold-backed loans to its payment platform in India. "This collaboration opens up an avenue to mobilize their latent gold assets, at affordable interest rates and with greater flexibility to chart a course for their futures through education, business or anything else," the company added.

In addition to this, the company announced that it has partnered with Aditya Birla Finance Limited to offer credit to individual customers and businesses on Google Pay.

This feature builds on the announcement Google made at the Google for India 2023 event wherein it first announced the availability of credit lines for individuals and merchants. At the time, the company had partnered with ICICI Bank and Axis Bank for offering loans to its users. This year, the company has added Aditya Birla Finance to the mix.

Lastly, Google today announced that it is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered guide on Google Pay that will help Google Pay users gain understanding of credit products. "To aid understanding of credit products, Google Pay’s AI-powered support guide can now answer users’ questions about repayment cycles, eligibility criteria, EMIs and much more, while providing a link to the relevant, detailed terms and conditions," the company wrote in its blog post announcing the news.