Reliance to join Google and Facebook in India digital payments bid better serve the Indian e-commerce market, according to reports originally by The Economic Times.

Reliance is a conglomerate with interests in telecoms, energy, natural resources, and retail and is currently India’s largest company by market capitalisation.

Facebook and Google have already partnered with Reliance and own stakes in Jio Platforms - Reliance’s music, film, and telecoms unit.

The partnership is also reported to include Infibeam Avenues, an Indian technology service provider.

In 2019, India’s central bank called on private companies to form new combined entities (NUEs) to create a payments network that can provide a viable alternative to the one operated by the National Payments Council of India (NPCI).

The Indian Digital payments market could be worth $135.2 billion by 2023, according to an Assocham-PWC India study in 2019.

Neither Google, Facebook, Reliance or Infibeam provided comment on the news.
The deadline for all parties to submit NUE applications was recently extended to March 31 from February 26.

Other groups that have been reported as eying a bid include: Amazon and ICICI Bank; the Tata Group and private lender HDFC Bank; domestic ride-sharing company Ola and IndusInd Bank, and India’s’ largest mobile payment platform, Paytm.

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