eNews
PlayerzPot extends its association with Smriti Mandhana & Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Mumbai: Online gaming platform PlayerzPot has announced the extension of its association with cricketing stalwarts Smriti Mandhana and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as brand ambassadors. The sports stars were roped in by the brand in 2020.
Both Mandhana & Kumar will drive 360-degree communication through various campaigns and activities and promote the brand through their social media, the platform said in a statement. “This comes close on the heels of announcing a massive re-branding exercise,” it added.
“We are thrilled to announce that we have agreed to extend this successful association with Smriti and Bhuvneshwar by another term,” said PlayerzPot CEO Sunil Yadav. “We have another action-packed year ahead, and we could think of none better who understand our brand DNA and culture the way Smriti and Bhuvneshwar do. We look forward to another fantastic year of collaboration with them.”
Smriti Mandhana shared, “It is interesting to witness the remarkable growth of fantasy gaming in the country. I am delighted to be a part of PlayerzPot that has been at the forefront of this growth. The platform has been exceptional in building a strong connection with sports enthusiasts.”
Bhuvneshwar Kumar added, “I am excited to extend my partnership with Playerzpot. The brand has only grown from the time this partnership started. The category and the company are giving people an opportunity to take their passion to the next level. It is empowering & entertaining sports enthusiasts at the same time.”
Ahead of IPL 2021, Playerzpot recently launched a campaign with its brand-new logo, tagline, and groovy rap. The campaign proved to be successful for the brand with app downloads and user time per session zooming up, the platform said.
eNews
PNB partners Kiwi to launch credit-enabled UPI for users
Targets 180 million customers; RuPay card offers 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent cashback
MUMBAI: Swipe, tap, or scan credit is quietly slipping into the rhythm of everyday payments, and Punjab National Bank wants in on the action. The state-run lender has partnered with Kiwi to roll out credit-enabled UPI payments for its 180 million customers, marking a significant push to blend traditional banking with India’s fast-evolving digital payments ecosystem.
At the centre of the collaboration is the launch of the PNB Kiwi Credit Card on the RuPay network. The card is designed with a digital-first approach, offering fully online onboarding and seamless integration with UPI, allowing users to transact via scan-and-pay while accessing credit.
The offering also brings in a rewards layer, with cashback ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent on online transactions, positioning the product as both a convenience play and a spending incentive.
The move comes as UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, increasingly blurring the lines between debit-led transactions and credit access. For PNB, which operates over 10,000 branches around 60 per cent in semi-urban and rural areas, the partnership signals a targeted effort to extend formal credit to segments that have traditionally remained underserved.
The collaboration also reflects a broader industry shift, where banks and fintech platforms are converging to embed credit directly into payment flows, reducing friction while expanding access.
With RuPay credit cards gaining traction and UPI evolving beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the PNB–Kiwi tie-up positions both players at the intersection of scale, accessibility, and the next phase of digital finance in India.
