MOBIKWIK : Achieving Growth And Profits

 BY PRERANA JHANWAR

Gone are the days when the pant pockets weighted down and the ‘gullacks’ tinkled with the clinks of spare change and fresh notes. This is the era of Fintech. Wallets are being replaced by e-wallets. Easy hassle free payment and no worries about hunting for change every time you purchase something probably is a major benefit of using a mobile wallet.

While there are certain international players dominating the scene of fintech globally, Mobikwik has managed to carve a niche for itself in the Indian market.

Started by its current CEO and ex IIT Delhi graduate, Bipin Preet Singh in 2009, Mobikwik turned from a simple payment platform for prepaid mobile users to recharge their phones to a full stack fintech company offering numerous services. The initial service provided by the startup was a website with a closed wallet facility, but over the years, Mobikwik extended its services to mobile apps. Today, one can do bank transfers, and also take loans via it. The company has tie ups with NBFCs like Bajaj Finance, Aditya Birla and DMI Finance.

As for loans it has many options like an instant 3 minute loan, a credit line, and a term loan. It has also tied up with ICICI Lombard for accidental insurance, and also offers several other insurance products like online fraud protection, dengue insurance, hospital cash etc. to name a few.

In its over a decade long journey, Mobikwik has partnered with various brands like snapdeal, naaptol, CCD etc. , the company initially partnered with online merchants to make their wallets available as a payment option on e commerce sites. Slowly, TV recharge and other utility bill payments were added.

Some of its most profitable partnerships were with Uber India in 2015, which enabled Uber and its drivers to utilize Mobikwik to process debit and credit card payments. Then in 2017, it went on to partner with IDFC bank to launch a co branded virtual visa prepaid card for the customers.

All in all Mobikwik’s journey has been a smooth one , keeping aside a few bumps in the road. The profitability and growth of the company took a huge leap when in 2019, Mobikwik reported a 5 times year on year growth and the growth has been persistent ever since.

The company is also eyeing to launch its IPO in 2022. With the company venturing into new verticals, and having acquired a huge user base, Mobikwik is surely here to stay.