MobiKwik, India's largest independent mobile payments network, today announced that it has launched its 'Cash Pickup' service, a facility that allows cash to be directly added to MobiKwik wallet.
The service soon to be launched across all major cities in India is currently available in Delhi-NCR.
With this initiative, MobiKwik's 17 million users will now have yet another innovative way to top up their wallet.
The service, which literally brings the bank to a user's doorstep, will also bring tremendous benefits to people who do not have access to bank accounts or credit and debit cards.
Cash pickup allows anywhere from Rs. 100 to Rs. 10,000 to be added to the user's MobiKwik wallet in real time. The users can then make payments across diverse use cases such as recharge, bills, food, travel and cabs, shopping, entertainment, money transfer, etc.
In order to use MobiKwik's doorstep cash pickup service, the users need to visit the CashPay tab on the MobiKwik app. The user's mobile number is pre-filled and the exact location detected automatically. A click on 'Request Cash Pickup' will activate the nearest MobiKwik agent who then arrives within 30 minutes to process the request.
In parallel, the user also gets to view on the app the name and photograph of the agent responsible for the pickup. It's mandatory for all MobiKwik agents to be dressed in uniform, which further helps in identification. To ensure safety of the users' money, the process of cash pickup is OTP protected.
"Mobile technology is redefining how money works in India and how it exchanges hands. Our new and extremely easy to use cash pickup service, is the kind of innovation that reflects our drive to connect the world of offline to online," said Bipin Preet Singh, Founder CEO, MobiKwik, commenting on the launch.
"With this we are literally taking the bank to the user's doorstep and making it possible for millions of new users to start making digital transactions. MobiKwik's 'Cash Pickup' feature is completely aligned with our goal of creating 150 million digitally paying users," he added.
The potential for mobile-based banking services in the country is huge, with number of users who currently do not have a bank account running into more than 70 percent. Also, of those who do have bank accounts, a majority of them do not use their credit or debit card online or do have not access to internet banking.
MobiKwik, recently raised close to $25 million in a Series B round from Sequoia Capital, American Express, Cisco Investments, and Tree Line Asia. The company plans to raise another $80 - $100 million in 2015.
MobiKwik is disrupting the payments space further in 2015 by creating an offline retail network of more than 100,000 merchants, which will serve both as points for cash loading into the wallet and for wallet payments acceptance.
The company also applied for a Payments Bank license in February 2015.
MobiKwik is India's largest independent mobile payments network connecting 17 million users with 50,000 retailers. MobiKwik enables users to discover retailers (brick-and-mortar stores, e-com websites, m-com apps, billers, telcos) and then start paying them with 1-tap.
MobiKwik is powering payments for Uber, Meru Cabs, Big Bazaar, WHSmith India, Cafe Coffee Day, PVR, BookMyShow, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Star Sports, GoDaddy, eBay, ShopClues, Myntra, Jabong, Pepperfry, HomeShop18, MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, and Yatra.
The company has raised close to $30 million in funding till now from Sequoia Capital, American Express, Tree Line Asia, and Cisco Investments.
With MobiKwik, users load money into the wallet once using cash, loyalty points, debit card, credit card, and net banking to make secure 1-tap payments for purchases. Most MobiKwik users make 10 purchases every month using their wallet balance across diverse use cases such as recharge, bills, food, travel and cabs, shopping, entertainment, etc.
Users also transfer money to wallets and bank accounts of friends and family using MobiKwik. Users today enjoy MobiKwik wallet services on Android, Windows and iOS mobile applications and on MobiKwik.com.
MobiKwik aspires to be the largest source of digital transactions in India. The company's goal is to power $5B in payments between 150M users and 500,000 retailers. MobiKwik has also applied to RBI for a Payments Bank license in February 2015.
