Under pressure to reclaim its market leadership in India, China's Xiaomi wants to make purchasing its smartphones cheaper by partnering with Axio, a digital consumer financial service, and Trustonic, a digital security and services company, to offer digital loans.

Xiaomi, the third-largest smartphone seller in India, has launched the Xiaomi Easy Finance scheme (XED), a digital loan disbursement scheme for consumers, beginning with the Redmi 12, a smartphone priced under Rs 15,000.

Xiaomi said in a statement on Wednesday that it will give "inclusive financial solutions" to provide users with flexible and affordable options for purchasing a smartphone. According to the company, the loans are granted instantaneously through a digital, paperless process with no-cost EMI choices.

“We have always aimed to make technology accessible to all. With Xiaomi Easy Finance, we are taking another significant step towards achieving that goal,” said Muralikrishnan B, president, Xiaomi India.

"This program enables us to provide our customers with a simple and convenient financing solution." It assures that owning Redmi devices is not only affordable but also provides a seamless and hassle-free digital experience, independent of location," he added.

The strategy is similar to what Samsung has been doing since 2019, which senior executives have previously described as a key driver for the company's growth and ultimate leading position in the Indian smartphone market.

According to Gaurav Hinduja, managing director of Axio, the financing strategy can potentially disrupt the smartphone market in India's tier 3 and 4 cities.