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Livquik Technology India-promoted QuikWallet, a mobile payment provider for the food and beverage sector, on Friday said it had secured $1.6 million in follow-on funding from its existing investor Snow Leopard Technology Ventures. Including this round of funding, the venture has in all raised $ 2.1 million and is looking to raise $5 million in Series-A financing.
The venture currently caters to about 1000 restaurants and small merchants with a Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of Rs 50 lakh and growing rapidly on a monthly basis, said the company.
QuikWallet started off as a payments and loyalty app for restaurants and has transformed itself into a platform that serves diverse merchant categories – from small neighborhood stores, florists, education institutions to car service centers. The platform provides merchants with a plethora of options like SMS, NFC, QR codes, Web/Mobile Apps and a POS Software integrated approach to help collect payments both offline as well as online.
Mohit Lalvani, Co-founder & CEO, LivQuik Technology India Pvt. Ltd commented that the line between online and offline is blurring with offline merchants wanting to sell online and vice-versa. On the other hand, banks need to compete with mobile wallets and have to provide a similar solution for their customers.
“We have now expanded our offering to own the customer whether they transact online or offline, where we work with banks as issuers on our platform. We are trying to create a standard and our DNA of being customer and merchant driven, provides a distinct edge in doing so,” said Lalvani.
Payment options available today require a 16-digit card number and further authentication for online transactions. For offline they require the merchant to have a POS terminal. And for mobile, banks need to implement additional software and hardware to enable NFC payments which makes them expensive to implement and maintain.
“Posing constraints in a cost-conscious market like India, our vision is to bring down the barrier for a merchant to accept payments using just an SMS & NFC tags with no data connectivity or hardware terminals required,” he further added.
Chris Kolenaty, CEO of Snow Leopard Ventures, the approach of their platform is radically different from that of peers and more sustainable and scalable in the long run. Their potent mix of technology (indigenously developed patent pending platform) and relentless consumer and merchant focus is what excites us
QuikWallet’s merchant connect platform interfaces with its consumer facing app, enabling businesses and consumers to transact fast and secure. The USP (unique selling proposition) of the platform is that merchants require no hardware whatsoever and sensitive payment information never enters the merchant environment. QuikWallet’s consumer app also features Utility bill payments. QuikWallet has the necessary data security certifications in place and recently applied to the Reserve Bank for a semi-closed prepaid payments license.
