Media Release

Mangaluru, Aug 30: Karnataka Bank, headquartered in Mangaluru and a leading private sector bank, is proud to announce its pioneering move of being an early adopter and first bank to offer loans on open network, a revolutionary move by ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) in democratizing credit at scale.

The bank will be offering personal loans through the buyer Apps on the ONDC Network, which will be available for bank’s existing customers initially and will be extended to ‘New to Bank’ customers.

Srikrishnan H, managing director & CEO of Karnataka Bank, stated, “This is yet another big step in democratizing credit. Karnataka Bank is proud to be the first bank to integrate into ONDC’s rails and is excited to innovate and work closely with their ecosystem, evolve products and services & contribute to build India’s Digital Public Infrastructure.”

Sekhar Rao, executive director of Karnataka Bank, added, “We are excited to be an early adopter of ONDC for financial services and believe that the standardized protocols of ONDC enables great convenience in connecting lenders to multiple buyer App’s, thus unlocking huge potential. Customers will now have more choices with better price discovery.”

T Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC, added that, “ONDC’s mission is to democratize financial services in India by leveraging technology to create networks that enable the low-cost distribution of financial products. Moreover, ONDC is building a technological environment that encourages innovation in financial products but in a controlled and responsible manner. Karnataka Bank's initiative is a perfect example of how ONDC Network can empower both financial institutions and consumers, marking a significant milestone in our journey towards a more accessible and equitable financial ecosystem in India.”