Indian financial services provider Fino has acquired Nokia’s mobile payments business for an undisclosed sum, following the Finnish handset giant’s decision earlier this year to close its flagship mobile money service. According to a Times of India report, the all-cash deal will enable Fino to enter the prepaid mobile payments market.  "We were limited only to the banking and financial services space till now wherein we helped operate bank accounts, sold insurance and facilitated remittances, this deal gives us an entry into the expenditure side," said Fino CEO Manish Khera.  Fino was looking at organically expanding into the area and was about to launch on its own in six months, he said.

Nokia operated the business for two years and decided in March to exit following a global strategy to divest from non-core businesses. It reportedly now has around 700,000 dormant accounts.