eNews
Route Mobile subsidiary elevates Shefali Sharma as CEO
Mumbai: Route Mobile Ltd on Tuesday announced the promotion of Shefali Sharma as chief executive officer (CEO) and appointed Ramachandran Sivathanu, member of the board, as chief operating officer (COO) of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Call2Connect India, with immediate effect.
Sharma is a seasoned business leader with over 26 years of experience, largely working in the ITeS sector, and has worked with companies like Omnia, Spanco, & Spice among others. She has been an integral member of the company since 2012, having held several key leadership portfolios during her tenure. As CEO of Call2Connect, Sharma will be responsible for driving innovation, nurturing talent, and growing the business at the company.
Sivathanu is an industry veteran with in-depth telecommunications expertise and has worked with companies like Loop Telecom, Meridian Mobile, RPG Cellular Services, and Red Bottle Telecommunications Consultancy.
“Shefali has displayed excellent leadership in steering the company through a turbulent 2020 ensuring business continuity, and as we pivot to the next normal, I am confident that Call2Connect is on the right path of success in her leadership. Ramachandran’s rich technology & telecom experience can add depth to the business operations at Call2Connect,” said Route Mobile Ltd, MD and group CEO, Rajdipkumar Gupta.
“The business process outsourcing industry is growing rapidly and will be worth an estimated $52 billion globally by 2023. Both Shefali as well as Ramachandran bring in years of experience and are fully capable to accelerate Call2Connect’s potential to tap this addressable market,” he added.
“Customer and employee first are two key elements that make successful organisations. I’m honored to lead a company that prioritises its customers’ needs and nurtures its employees to become successful leaders,” Sharma said. “As a company, we are well-positioned to accelerate growth with agility in giving the best possible ITeS solutions to our clients, and make Call2Connect the employer of choice.”
“I am excited to be a part of the next phase of growth for Call2Connect with Shefali Sharma and under the leadership of Rajdipkumar Gupta,” Sivathanu said. “The ITeS sector is rapidly evolving and digital technologies are constantly changing customer communication. Call2Connect’s customer-centric approach and high-quality service delivery make us a partner of choice for businesses wanting to re-think their outsourcing strategy.”
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.
