Walmart-woned digital payments firm PhonePe will acquire WealthDesk and OpenQ for $50 million and $20 million respectively, say reports. This acquisition is part of PhonePe’s efforts to strengthen its financial and wealth management services. PhonePe has confirmed the deal but is yet to confirm the amount.
WealthDesk is a wealth management firm. After the acquisition, the founder of WealthDesk and the entire team will be working as part of the PhonePe group. Both platforms will remain independent. WealthDesk will be open to all players and founder Ujjwal Jain will continue to oversee the platform.
OpenQ is a smart beta wealth management platform. It designs investment strategies and optimal portfolio construction advice. Following the acquisition, OpenQ will create the Wealth Ecosystem for the PhonePe Group.
PhonePe entered the financial services sector in 2017 through gold trading and later silver. Since then, it has introduced several mutual fund and insurance products such as tax-saving funds, liquid funds, international travel insurance, and life insurance. PhonePe expects to source more income from the financial services sector in future as India’s financial service market is likely to hit $340 billion in the next few years.
