AskmePay eyes 30 mn mobile wallet users

AskmePay, the payment initiative by the AskMe Group, plans to achieve profitability by the second half of 2018 and add as many as 30 million mobile wallets in the next 18 months.

AskmePay is the latest entrant in the mobile wallet business. The One97 Communications-run Paytm is the biggest player, followed by FreeCharge, which was recently bought over by online marketplace giant Snapdeal. Other wallet companies like Oxigen and MobiKwik are present in India.

"From a corner shop to government-run spaces, we want to partner with everyone. Talks are on with various government agencies to incorporate our wallet to pay utility bills. Also we will promote recharges, direct-to-home payments and pay for transportation services," said Anand Sonbhadra, chief executive officer of AskmePay and chief financial officer of AskMe Group.

The company, which has just listed its app on the Google App store, has 300,000 users. It hopes to have three million wallet users in the next six months.

"We are aiming for 30 million wallet users in the next 18 months. We believe that by the second half of 2018 we will break even," added Sonbhadra.

AskmePay is offering a portfolio of financing options to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with AskmeFin. These include a short-term working capital loans, overdraft limits, loans against receivables, and bill discounting.

The group has a series of strategic alliances and will offer loans ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 crore. The financing option will be in addition to AskMe's array of services for SMEs, AskmeBazaar, AskmePay, AskmeFurniture and AskmeGrocery.