MobiKwik comes to rescue of traders, businessmen post demonetization

New Delhi [India], Nov. 28 (ANI): With demonetisation becoming a major cause of concern for not so tech savvy small traders and local businessmen, digital wallet firm MobiKwik on Monday launched MobiKwik 'Lite' to cater to their needs in this hour of crisis so that they receive payments seamlessly.

The company says MobiKwik 'Lite', being an under 1 mb app, can be downloaded within 30 seconds and works smoothly on EDGE connections. It will also cater to the needs of the smartphone users, who face challenges of slow data connectivity and thus are unable to make digital payments easily.

Users can download this app with just one missed call and sign up with their mobile number.

Mobile wallets, especially after demonetisation, has become one of the essential modes of payment for daily utilities. Now that Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes are no longer legal tender, the country is facing a cash crunch and thus there is an increased dependence on plastic money.

"This is an app for Bharat, who may have smartphone but not able to use any kind of payment options," Co- founder of MobiKwik, Bipin Preet Singh, said in an exclusive conversation.

Commenting on the challenges post demonetisation, he laid emphasis on developing something for feature phones which should work without the smart phone and without internet.

"Demonetisation helped business quite a bit, we know lot of people are suffering and we feel that as a society we had not taken the leap toward cashless, we are in the process right now, the education has been created, awareness has been created but reality is that cash is continuing that's why MobiKwik lite had to be there," said Singh.

"Now we have to develop something for feature phones also which should work without the smart phone and without internet. Overall my views are positive on the business side. We have a lot to do," he added.

MobiKwiK lite has been developed within ten days with an investment of USD one million.

"200 percent increase in app downloads , 700 percent increase in add money, 10 X increase in wallet to wallet transfers, 20 X increase in wallet to bank transfers and transactions has jumped by 70- 80 percent. We are processing 1.5 million transactions. So, the number has just gone to the roof," he added.

Soon after the demonetisation drive, Paytm said it registered over seven million transactions worth Rs. 120 crore in a day. Rival MobiKwik it seems is trying to reach out to those customers, who have a slower 2G connection and might not have a lot of space to spare on their smartphones.

"Our strategy is a Bharat strategy, we are clear that real smart phone users may have multiple options and therefore there is competition but when we go beyond 60-70 million users who have 3G or different kind of connections, they don't have any other solution. There only solution is cash that is why we came up with MobiKwik Lite. So our entire strategy is to focus on rest of the people and get them on board. Then also create the right awareness," Singh said.

He further said MobiKwik will invest in campaign through print and radio in tier two cities and in vernacular languages.

"We want to go to those people who don't get advertisements and reach out to vernacular print and radio channels targeting ten languages including English and Hindi which is 80 percent of target audience," he said.

Talking about the future of the app, he hoped that 17-18 million users in 30 days would be the company's target.

Upasana Taku, also the co-founder of MobiKwik, said their new product addresses the issues being faced by local retailers post the government's demonetisation drive.

"MobiKwik is proud to be a made in India company with Indian ownership. We are here to serve our fellow Indians with technology and innovation. Our new product addresses the issues being faced by local retailers since demonetization and we are passionate and committed to resolve any challenges being faced by masses in India, pertaining to payments," she said.

MobiKwik Lite can be downloaded directly by any shopkeeper or retailer by giving a missed call to 80971-80971 from any Android smartphone, even without an e-mail id and without having a Google Play Store account.

Once a user clicks on this link, they will be taken to the download page, where the app can be downloaded from within 30 seconds, even on a 2G/EDGE connection. User then receives an OTP and is registered instantly on the MobiKwik platform. The app will work seamlessly on an Android smartphone even with a dated Android OS. The company will also be launching an offline version of this app.