MobiKwik to offer loans through digital wallets

Experts say features like this will help MobiKwik to stand out in a crowded market

 

Mobile wallet company MobiKwik is planning to offer loans and is seeking tie-ups with banks or non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

“There are several people in the country who do not have access to credit through the financial system. We will need to tie up with a bank or NBFC.  We are planning to offer this service within the next six months,” said Bipin Preet Singh, chief executive officer, MobiKwik.

Experts believe features like this will help MobiKwik to stand out in a crowded market. Apart from several players offering mobile wallets, banks have launched these services too.

MobiKwik was among the 41 companies that had applied to the Reserve Bank of India for a payments banks licence but it was not granted one.

MobiKwik has also been looking offline and has tied up with brick-and-mortar retailers like Big Bazaar. “The average ticket size of the transaction is Rs 1,000 and we expect this to rise. We are present in 5,000 stores and we want to increase this to 50,000 stores in the next six months,” Singh said.

MobiKwik plans to double its customer base from 25 million users to 50 million in the next six months.

Last month, MobiKwik had said it planned to raise $50-100 million to fund its growth. The company has so far raised close to $30 million from Sequoia Capital, American Express, Tree Line Asia and Cisco Investments.