In a country with over 1.4 billion people, the movement of India to become a purely cashless society has been a complex yet disruptive one. One of its inventors is Mobikwik, one of the many companies that helps to fuel this revolution. Launched back in 2009, the digital payments platform has come a long way from its initial humble beginnings to become a unicorn company and one of the most admired fintech companies in India. This blog delves into Mobikwik's success story, its founders' journey, and the company's profound impact on India’s cashless economy.
The Founders: The Vision Behind Mobikwik
Mobikwik was established in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku. Both were IIT Delhi alumni and, as a result of their joint affinity for technology and innovation, it is the origin point of their entrepreneurship. Prior to Mobikwik, Bipin previously held positions at Ericsson, and Upasana previously held positions at Deutsche Bank in the United States. It was while they were abroad that they realised the role that mobile wallets and digital payments could play, which were becoming more common in the West. Picking up on this, they also had the courage to propose the idea of a digital purse in India, a country where currency had been the ultimate medium of payment for the most time.
The absence of digital financial service access to the Indian population. J In spite of widespread mobile phone adoption, there is still a gap for the platform for everyday, functional, personal activities e.g., mobile phone topping up, power bill payment, shopping online, etc. The pair had, as their idea, a system where people could make such payments directly from their phones, without the need for cash or cards or anything like that.
The Prototype: Building the First Version of Mobikwik
The Indian digital payments market of 2009 was quite new and was developed by Mobikwik. As regards infrastructure, there was a shortage of both infrastructure and that knowledge of digital wallets and internet usage itself was low. Despite these challenges, the founders believed in their vision and decided to create a simple, easy-to-use mobile wallet that would cater to the needs of the average Indian consumer.
The first generation of Mobikwik provided its users the ability to recharge their mobile phones and services. Bipin and Upasana began modestly by working with mobile operators and local enterprises to bring new products. Initially, the platform struggled to gain traction due to low internet penetration and a lack of trust in digital transactions. However, the struggle of Mobikwik culminated in a good result where the following predictable user base started to grow on the platform.
The company’s big breakthrough came when they introduced ‘Wallet to Wallet’ transfers, which allowed users to send money to anyone with a Mobikwik account. This feature became extremely popular and played a key role in growing the platform’s user base.
Mobikwik’s Evolution: From Startup to Unicorn
Since its foundation Mobikwik aimed to extract as much as mobile recharges as possible, beyond that. By 2014, Mobikwik had offered a wide range of service including (but not limited to) online bill payment, online ticketing sale, and online shopping payment. The company started to expand on a considerable basis taking the Indian digital crest and increase in mobile phone connectivity as opportunities.
The biggest turning point in Mobikwik's journey came in 2016, following the government's demonetization move. [U]The instant the government initiated a cash crunch of banknotes of the highest denomination, a significant part of Indians started to search for digital solutions for money transfer. In that time, Mobikwik saw an influx of new users and its monthly transactions doubled (or even more). The company capitalized on the situation by introducing new features such as “Cashless India” campaigns and QR code payments, making it even easier for people to make digital transactions in stores and markets.
At 2021, Mobikwik had raised over 1 billion. As an example, due to a population of more than 100M users and an active ecosystem of merchants, Mobikwik grew to be one of the biggest mobile wallets in India.
Hidden Stories and Unpopular Facts About Mobikwik
Although Mobikwik is congratulated on its considered success, there are untold tales, unrevealed facets and so on that contribute to the aspiration itself: .
Challenges with Funding: Challenges with Funding:
Despite being one of the first movers in India’s digital wallet market, Mobikwik faced a tough road in terms of securing funding. During the early period, there were many investors who were doubtful about the prospects of mobile wallets in India, especially in the presence of the cash economy that prevailed in India. Bipin and Upasana, whose collaborative history is often exemplified by the fact that they had to pitch to several hundred investors before closing their first major funding round.
Focus on Customer Trust: Focus on Customer Trust:
Customer trust, a major bottleneck Mobikwik was challenged with in the initial years, was however one of the key challenges faced and tackled by us in order to build a successful business. In a country ruled by cash, it was not a simple task to make users trust digital payments. Founders invariably highlighted the establishment of a secure base through the use of the state of the art encryption and a level of support that encouraged confidence.
The Payment Gateway Shift: The Payment Gateway Shift:
In 2018 Mobikwik moved in a slightly different direction from its own traditional business model (namely, entering the field of payment gateways). It provided its own Payment Gateway, enabling its customers to get payment from users using Mobikwik wallet, credit cards or even UPI. This strategic move established the company not only as a wallet but also as an extension in the fintech ecosystem, thus consolidating its position.
Corporate Social Responsibility: Corporate Social Responsibility:
Mobikwik has always been involved in supporting social causes. The firm has partnered with NGOs to conduct sense of financial literacy and also actively promoted programs for women empowerment by providing them digital financial service.
Mobikwik’s Impact on India’s Society and Cashless Economy
Changing Payment Habits
With the rise of Mobikwik Indians are no more the same with regard to making payments. Mobikwik has enabled all, from paying shop bills or utility bills or booking travel or buying insurance and so on. It has made both digital financial services accessible to billions, especially in tier-2 tier-3 center of urban areas, where conventional banking services were much less accessible.
Empowering the Unbanked
One of the greatest contributions of Mobikwik has been to the unbanked segment of the population. Using the mobile wallet, individuals unable to formally access the banking system could still perform digital transactions. This financial services democratization played a vital role in contributing to financial inclusion in India.
Promoting Financial Literacy
Mobikwik has made considerable steps to educate its customers of digital finance. By engaging in various campaigns, the company succeeded in enhancing financial literacy, especially in rural India, by educating people on the basics of digital wallets and secure online payments.
Reinforcing Digital Trust
Mobikwik also contributed to the development of trust in digital transactions. However, with the increasing popularity of mobile wallets, want for people continues to grow to shop online, and the adoption of a cashless society is another big step. Relying on security and transparency, Mobikwik played a central role in building the trust around this.
The Future of Mobikwik and the Cashless Economy
For the future, Mobikwik seeks to scale the business beyond the realm of the wallets and payment aggregators. The company aims, therefore, to provide lending and insurance products together, that is, users will be provided with access to micro-loan financing and to insurance products through the app. Supported by the government's cashless economy agenda and by the growing popularity of UPI and mobile wallets, Mobikwik has an opportunity to grow its presence much more significantly as a leader in the Indian fintech revolution.
Conclusion
The lifecycle of Mobikwik, from a small startup into a unicorn firm, is an example of resilience, vision and determination of the company in taking the digital financial literacy tools to millions of Indians. As one of the leading players in India’s move towards a cashless economy, Mobikwik’s role in reshaping the way payments are made is indisputable. It is not only the fact that the company has enabled the ease of transaction of money but also the confidence in digital money has been built and the role of the company to be at the heart of India's story of financial inclusion has been played.
By continuing to innovate and expand its services, Mobikwik is poised to drive the next phase of India’s digital financial revolution—one transaction at a time.