MobiKwik

MobiKwik
Private
Industry Digital wallets / E-commerce payment system
Founded April 2009 (2009-04)
Founder Bipin Preet Singh, Upasana Taku
Headquarters Gurgaon, India
Area served
 India
Services Mobile and online payments, phone and DTH recharges, money transfers, shopping
Parent One MobiKwik Systems Private Limited
Website mobikwik.com

MobiKwik is an Indian company founded in 2009 that provides a mobile phone based payment system and digital wallet.[1][2] Customers add money to an online wallet that can be used for payments. In 2013 the Reserve Bank of India authorized the company's use of the MobiKwik wallet, and in May 2016 the company began providing small loans to consumers as part of its service. The company launched its MobiKwik Lite mobile app in November 2016, designed for users of older 2G mobile networks and for those in areas with poor internet connectivity. In November 2016, the company reported having 1.5 million merchants using its service and a user base of 55 million customers.[3][4][5]

History

MobiKwik founder Bipin Singh (second from right) at the 2016 Rise Conference

MobiKwik was founded in 2009 by husband and wife team Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku.[1][6] Singh, a 2002 graduate of IIT Delhi, saw an opportunity to improve mobile recharge options. He seeded the company with USD$250 thousand[7] of his own money, developed the website and payment options, and rented office space in Dwarka, Delhi.[8] The initial service was a website with a closed wallet facility, but over the years, MobiKwik extended their service to mobile apps.[9] The company initially partnered with online merchants to make their wallet available as a payment option on e-commerce sites.[10]

Overview

MobiKwik launched an e-wallet system in 2012 that enabled users to deposit money online to use for bill payments and other features.[11] In September 2014, Express Computer reported how MobiKwik was partnering with GoDaddy and other international companies to help them comply with Indian payment regulations.[12] In June 2017, 80 percent of India's mobile wallet transactions market was performed by Paytm, ITZCash and Mobikwik.[5] In March 2017, MobiKwik's largest competitor was Paytm.[13]

In April 2015, MobiKwik was used by 15 million users and claimed to be adding one million new customers every month, according to Forbes India Magazine.[2] In a partnership with CashCare, MobiKwik began providing small loans between 500–2,500 Indian rupees to customers in May 2016.[14][15] In November 2016, MobiKwik had over 1.5 million merchants using its service and 55 million users.[3][5]

Following the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation in November 2016, MobiKwik realized a 400% increase in financial transactions using the service by late December, 2016.[16]

In February 2017, the company announced plans to invest approximately USD$45 million to expand its user base from 50 million to 150 million users in 2017.[4]

MobiKwik wallet

MobiKwik wallet is a semi closed wallet authorized in 2013 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).[1][17][18] The RBI license allows the company to create marketplaces where customers can purchase goods and services from third party vendors, avoiding the reportedly high failure rates of payment gateway transactions in India.[18]

Uber partnership

MobiKwik payment gateway partnered with Uber India in July 2015, which enabled Uber and its drivers to utilize MobiKwik to process debit and credit card payments.[19]

Mobile app

In November 2016, MobiKwik launched its MobiKwik Lite mobile app aimed at users in poor internet connectivity regions and consumers using older 2G cellular networks.[20][16][21][22] On November 8, 2017, IDFC Bank entered into a strategic partnership with digital payments solution company MobiKwik to launch a co-branded virtual Visa prepaid card for customers of MobiKwik.

Funding

In 2013, after founder Singh's initial $250k seed investment, MobiKwik raised $5 million in Series A funding from an unnamed US-based VC firm.[7] In 2015, Series B rounds from Singaporean investment firm Tree Line Asia and American firm Sequoia Capital, with participation from US technology company Cisco Systems and financial services company American Express raised an additional USD$31 million.[7][23] In May 2016, the company announced a $50 million Series C round, led by Japanese Internet company GMO Internet, and Taiwanese semiconductor firm MediaTek, along with investors including Sequoia and Treeline Asia, bringing company funding to date to more than $80 million.[24]

On June 19, 2017, Medianama reported that Mobikwik had confirmed to them that they had raised $150 million at a valuation of $1 billion from undisclosed investors.[25]

On 3rd August 2017, Bajaj Finance picked up 10.83% stake in MobiKwik for Rs. 225 crores.[26]

Awards

In 2014, MobiKwik won the mBillionth Award South Asia in the category of Mobile Business, for socially valuable contributions to South Asia's digital infrastructure.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kulkarni, Srinivas (August 19, 2013). "Mobikwik aims to be India's top mobile wallet". ZDNet. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Hussain, Shabana. "Mobikwik's journey and the path ahead". Forbes India. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  3. 1 2 Srivastav, Taruka (June 8, 2017). "Digital Payments, AI and VR will power the Indian economy in future". The Drum. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "MobiKwik to invest Rs 300 cr to expand user base". The Hindu. February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Das, Goutam (June 4, 2017). "Shrinking wallets". Business Today. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  6. ↑ Raghunathan, Anu (2016-04-15). "India's MobiKwik Aims To Hit $1 Billion In Revenue, Says Cofounder Upasana Taku". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  7. 1 2 3 "Crunchbase:MobiKwik". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  8. ↑ "Seven successful enterprises by IIT graduates". The Economic Times. 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  9. ↑ "Mobikwik's journey and the path ahead". Forbes India. 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  10. ↑ Balanarayan, B T. "Mobikwik integrates wallet to e-commerce sites". MediaNama. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  11. ↑ "Recharge, Pay Through E-Wallet MobiKwik's Android app is the highest rated Recharge app on Google Play". Business World. 2004-11-08. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  12. ↑ Chakraborty, Sayan (2014-09-30). "Local mobile wallets MobiKwik, Paytm find many a taker in global names". Express Computer. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  13. ↑ "No 2% fee on adding money with credit card, instead get 2% cashback, says MobiKwik". The Financial Express (India). March 9, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  14. ↑ Nair, Vishwanath (June 2, 2016). "Is Mobikwik treading on thin ice with 'annual profit' offer?". Mint. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Mobikwik wants to add financial services and offline food companies to its wallet". May 20, 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2017 – via The Economic Times.
  16. 1 2 "MobiKwik sees 400% rise in transactions post demonetisation". The Indian Express. December 27, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  17. ↑ Variyar, Mugdha; Bhakta, Pratik (14 March 2017). "RBI to now open up UPI for digital wallets like Paytm and MobiKwik". Retrieved 8 June 2017 – via The Economic Times.
  18. 1 2 Nikhil Pahwa (2013-08-12). "Paytm, Mobikwik Allocated Prepaid Wallet Licenses By RBI; Flipkart?". MediaNama. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
  19. ↑ "Uber Partners MobiKwik to Power Credit, Debit Card Payments in India". NDTV. July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  20. ↑ "MobiKwik Lite Wallet App Launched for 2G Internet Connections". NDTV. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  21. ↑ Sain, Manish (November 28, 2016). "Know your e-wallets: Quick intro & comparison of Paytm, Mobikwik, Freecharge and others". India Today. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  22. ↑ Srivastava, Moulishree (July 12, 2016). "Mobikwik launches new version of its mobile wallet app". Business Standard. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  23. ↑ Aggarwal, Varun. "Cisco, Amex & Treeline invest $ 25 million in Mobikwik". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  24. ↑ Russell, Jon (2016-05-03). "India's MobiKwik raises $50M for its mobile wallet service". Techcrunch. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  25. ↑ http://www.medianama.com/2017/06/223-mobikwik-confirms-it-is-raising-around-150-million-in-the-coming-months/
  26. ↑ "Bajaj Finance Picks Up 10.83% Stakes in MobiKwik for Rs. 225 crores - TechStory". TechStory. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  27. ↑ "Winners 2014". Mbillionth.in. Retrieved June 7, 2017.

Further reading

  • "Three million street vendors go cashless with MobiKwik". Deccan Chronicle. December 16, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  • Choudhury, Karan (April 24, 2017). "FreeCharge, MobiKwik in merger talks". Business Standard. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  • Singh, Rajiv (May 28, 2017). "Why MobiKwik is attempting to morph into a financial services provider". Retrieved 8 June 2017 – via The Economic Times.
  • "MobiKwik Puts Growth Before Profit". Bloomberg.com. June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  • Chathurvedula, Sadhana (June 16, 2016). "Freecharge and MobiKwik take fight to their blogs". Mint. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
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