Digital gold is the new war zone for PhonePe, Amazon and Google in India

With Covid-19 impacting buying sentiment, the tech giants are leaving no stone unturned to woo customers to buy digital gold on instalments across the country, including smaller towns

When Ram Mohan (name changed) from Sangvi village in Telangana wanted to buy gold for his sister’s wedding sometime this year, he faced a huge challenge as the physical gold stores were shut due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, given the occasion, the delivery of the gold had to happen on time. But there was no guarantee on that as the country was under lockdown. It is then Ram Mohan bought ‘digital gold’ on online payments platform PhonePe. The Walmart-owned firm expedited the delivery process so that the physical gold could reach his residence before his sister’s wedding. The PhonePe