MobiKwik gets $25 million from Tree Line Asia

New Delhi: Mobile wallet company One MobiKwik Systems Pvt Ltd has raised $25 million in fresh funds from investors led by Tree Line Asia, the company said on Wednesday.

Cisco Investments, American Express Co. and existing investor Sequoia Capital also participated in the funding round.

The company is looking to raise $100 million more in 2015, said Upasana Taku, co-founder and director of MobiKwik.

The company, which has over 15 million users and 25,000 merchants, will use the $25 million towards building its brand, enhancing technology and data analytics, and expanding the network of users and retailers it works with,said Taku. The company is looking to add 100 people to its team in six months. It currently has 130 employees across India.

MobiKwik, run by One MobiKwik Systems Pvt. Ltd, applied for a payments bank permit in February.

The company raised close to $2.5 million from Sequoia Capital more than a year ago.

“With 90% of Indians being unbanked, simplified payments via a mobile wallet make perfect sense. Taking millions of Indians from cash to digital transactions and building a rich user profile to meet all their financial services’ needs, is our ultimate mission at MobiKwik,” said Bipin Preet Singh, a co-founder and chief executive, of Mobikwik.

In 2015, MobiKwik will focus on creating a physical retail network of more than 100,000 stores across India, which will serve as points for loading cash into the wallet and for acceptance of wallet payments. “With a potential payments bank licence, we plan to disrupt the delivery of financial services in India by using mobile technology to reach people that the existing banking networks have been unable to reach,” said Taku.

MobiKwik recently tied up with coffee chain Café Coffee Day, where customers can pay via their MobiKwik wallet.

Some of the other retailers that use MobiKwik wallet are PVR, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, online food ordering portal JustEat and online retailers such as eBay, Jabong and Snapdeal.

Digital or virtual wallets act as a holder of cash that resides in a mobile device or personal computer and can be used to purchase goods and services online. These can be loaded with cash through a mobile payment provider, online banking or through telecom operators.

Digital wallets can be closed, semi-closed or open. Closed wallets allow consumers to purchase goods and services from only one seller.Semi-closed wallets allow shopping at multiple merchants in a marketplace.

“MobiKwik has been impressive with its focus on a mobile-based product that customers love to use. American Express is a firm believer in the untapped potential of the mobile to make financial transactions easy and yet safe,” said Sanjay Rishi, president, American Express South Asia.

Cisco’s MobiKwik investment is a part of the company’s focus on connected mobility, said Alok Bardiya, country director, Cisco Corporate Development.

“Financial inclusion is a key pillar for the Digital India initiative and MobiKwik’s product innovation across the spectrum of mobile phones and platforms will help support the new government’s vision by offering a more dependable and low cost solution that provides financial access to many,” he said in a statement.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.