MobiKwik joins hands with Walmart to digitally empower 50 million SMBs in India
By Samiksha Jain •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Increased adoption of smartphones, tablets and other mobile technology has changed the way customers make payments. Today, payments market is majorly driven by transactions through mobile point of sale terminals and mobile banking.
Increased growth in the global mobile wallet market has been stimulated by the highly competitive telecom market and the growing adoption of smartphones and value-added services. As per the recent report on Mobile Wallet Market in India 2014-2018, the industry is set to grow at a CAGR of 140.87 per cent during 2013-2018.
MobiKwik, India's largest independent mobile payments, announced that it will power 20 of Walmart's Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in nine states. Under this partnership, MobiKwik will be the exclusive mobile payments partner to Walmart, offering members of its Best Price program, which comprises of small businesses and kirana stores a secure, swift and convenient payment option across channels.
The mobile payment solution, MobiKwik will allow instant one-tap payments for transactions placed through the Best Price mobile app, and will also allow its users to make payments via the MobiKwik wallet on the Walmart Best Price website and in the physical stores. Further, by using the wallet, users will be able to get instant refunds, which are currently done manually and take 7-10 days.
"Our new mobile app will give Best Price members a personalised and seamless shopping experience. We understand not just what customers want and need, but also where they want it and how they want to experience it. With our size and scale in India, we can serve customers quickly and more effectively with the whole range of channels we are offering," said Scott Price, President and CEO, Walmart Asia.
MobiKwik is powering payments for Uber, Meru Cabs, Big Bazaar, WHSmith India, Café Coffee Day, PVR, and many more. The company secured close to $30 million in funding till now from Sequoia Capital, American Express, Tree Line Asia, and Cisco Investments.
Speaking about the tie-up with Walmart India, BipinPreet Singh, Founder & CEO, MobiKwik said, "With this partnership, together Walmart and MobiKwik are bringing the power of mobile payments to the lakhs of small businesses and kirana stores in India. Besides making payments via the wallet, Best Price members who use MobiKwik will get refunds and incentives from Walmart "instantly" in their wallets. Members will also be able to load cash into their MobiKwik Wallets to make purchases via the Best Price mobile app. Mobile is now the fastest growing channel for the Indian economy and we are happy to be a part of the Walmart India mobile story. This is just the beginning and we expect the partnership with Walmart to expand in to next level of payment and financial services for BestPrice members in the coming months."
Future Plans
MobiKwik aspires to be the largest source of digital transactions in India. The company's goal is to power $5 billion in payments between 150 million users and 500,000 retailers. MobiKwik has also applied to RBI for a Payments Bank license in February 2015. Even as smartphone and Internet penetration, including web access through the mobile rises rapidly, less than 5 per cent of India's 50 million small and medium businesses have an online presence. MobiKwik is committed to developing solutions that can support the successful transition of such businesses to mobile and digital commerce.
