e-commerce
Zaggle swipes big with Mastercard in co-branded card power play
MUMBAI: When Zaggle and Mastercard join forces, you know the swipe game just levelled up. In a move set to reshape India’s prepaid card landscape, Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services Limited has inked a five-year deal with Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte. Ltd., paving the way for a new wave of co-branded domestic prepaid cards.
The agreement, effective from 22 September 2025 and running until 30 September 2030, will see Mastercard incentivise Zaggle to launch and promote these cards on its network. The deal is positioned as a customer business agreement, but in the wider payments ecosystem, it’s a strong signal that prepaid solutions are no longer niche, they’re going mainstream.
Zaggle managing director Avinash and CEO Ramesh Godkhindi confirmed the collaboration in a regulatory filing, noting that the tie-up is fully aligned with SEBI’s disclosure requirements. Importantly, there’s no related party angle here, the deal is clean, international in origin, but domestic in focus.
For Zaggle, this partnership means more than just plastic in wallets, it’s about scaling digital payments for an India that is rapidly going cashless. With Mastercard’s global heft backing its distribution, the co-branded cards are expected to target a wide consumer base, from urban professionals to emerging Tier 2 plus spenders looking for secure, flexible, and reward-heavy payment tools.
The timing couldn’t be sharper. With India’s digital transaction volumes already scaling new highs and festive spending season underway, the Zaggle-Mastercard alliance is poised to capture both consumer trust and transaction value.
By the numbers:
● Agreement duration: 22 September 2025 – 30 September 2030
● Nature: Domestic prepaid card co-branded with Zaggle on Mastercard’s network
● Structure: Internationally awarded, domestically executed
● Consideration: Mastercard incentivising Zaggle for launch and promotion
As fintech partnerships continue to blur the lines between consumer convenience and financial innovation, Zaggle’s latest move signals that the prepaid card is no longer the poor cousin of credit, it’s a rising star. With Mastercard in its corner, Zaggle isn’t just playing the payments game; it’s aiming to rewrite the rulebook.
MUMBAI: From flights to tracks, Cleartrip is now trying to keep every journey on the same ticket. Cleartrip, part of Flipkart, has launched train ticket bookings through a partnership with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, marking its entry into India’s vast rail travel ecosystem.
The integration allows users to search, book and manage train journeys directly within the app, as the company pushes towards becoming a unified, multi-modal travel platform. The move plugs Cleartrip into one of the world’s largest transportation networks, where over 800 million reserved passengers travel annually, alongside a daily footfall of around 23 million across Indian Railways.
The offering includes bookings across routes nationwide, covering General and Tatkal quotas as per Ministry of Railways guidelines. Users can also access real-time seat availability, fare insights, PNR status tracking, berth preferences and digital payment options within a single interface.
The expansion reflects a broader shift in travel platforms from specialising in a single mode to stitching together end-to-end journeys. For Cleartrip, the bet is not just on scale, but on simplifying a system often seen as complex and fragmented.
Company executives said the focus is on embedding predictive intelligence and personalisation into the booking journey, aiming to make everything from discovery to post-booking support faster and more intuitive.
The train booking feature is currently live on the app, with plans to extend it to the web platform soon, signalling a push towards a seamless cross-platform experience.
In a country where railways move billions each year, the next battleground for travel apps may well be decided not in the skies, but on the tracks.
