ItzCash has finally made its entry into the insurance business with a tie-up with HDFC ERGO to offer general insurance to customers. Earlier this year, the company was acquired by NASDAQ-listed Ebix and at the time had said that it would diversify into the insurance segment through its 75,000 physical outlets. The partnership will allow ItzCash to offer a range of general insurance policies including health, motor, fire and auto from HDFC ERGO. These products will be available to customers through ItzCash’s distribution network. Under the arrangement, the entire process right from filing an application to making the payment will be executed digitally through their network. The partnership will also provide the customers with the convenience to pay premiums at the nearest ItzCash outlet. Note that ItzCash might be tying up with other insurance players and when it was acquired, it mentioned that it is trying to build a financial exchange. The exchange would allow the company to offer insurance and loan products from multiple companies. With Ebix's investment, the company had also said that it would diversify into international markets in Australia and Brazil. Financials and new businesses ItzCash reported revenues of Rs 250 crores for the financial year 2016-17 (FY17), a growth of 40% year on year (from approximately Rs 180 crore), and turned profitable. Some of the new businesses started by ItzCash include: - International remittance. Ebix also bought Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) Business of YouFirst Money Express and Wall Street Finance Limited. This allowed ItzCash to diversify to international inward remittances…
