Google and Gold: A New Way to Lend in India

This: you're in India, and you need a loan. You might not have a high income or a perfect credit score, but you do have something valuable - gold. This is where Google steps in with an innovative plan. They teamed up with Muthoot Finance, the biggest name in gold-backed loans in India. The idea? Use your gold to get a loan through Google Pay. Why is this such a big deal? Well, Indians love their gold. About 1 billion people spend around ₹1 trillion on gold every year. Unlike China, where wealthy folks buy most of the gold, in India, it's the lower-income households that drive demand. Many Indians already own gold, and this ownership can help them secure loans at lower interest rates.Sharath Bulusu, who works on product management for Google Pay, sees a gold-backed solution as key to expanding credit access in India. This isn't just about economics; it's also about culture and emotion. Gold is deeply important to Indians, and this initiative could open new doors for millions to get formal credit. Google isn't doing this the old-fashioned way. They're using their smart AI model, Gemini, on Google Pay to help users with voice and text queries. And they've already made quite a splash. Loans have been extended in 13,500 postal codes, covering 70% of the country. Even more impressive, 80% of these loans went to people living in smaller cities and towns.