MobiKwik Launches ‘Lite’ Version For Slower Internet Connections

Mobile wallet company MobiKwik has launched MobiKwik ‘Lite’, a light mobile wallet, aimed to help unorganised retailers and shopkeepers across India to receive payments.

The MobiKwik Lite App is under 1 mb and this allows it to work smoothly on EDGE connections. This move is aimed to address the underserved smartphone users in India, that have slow data connectivity.

Speaking on the launch, Bipin Preet Singh, co-founder of MobiKwik said, “Majority of Indians do not have access to digital payments due to connectivity issues. With 250 Mn smartphones and less than 50% net penetration, India is highly underserved and the adverse impact of this reality is being observed by masses given the recent demonetisation. To bridge the gap between India & Bharat, we have launched MobiKwik ‘Lite’.”

Founded in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, MobiKwik is a wallet that enables users to pay in a flash for their mobile recharge and bill payments. It claims to connect 35 Mn users with 1 Lakh retailersand has partnered with over 50,000 businesses like Café Coffee Day, PVR, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, TastyKhana, JustEat, eBay, Jabong, Snapdeal, ShopClues, and HomeShop18 among others.

Users can download this app with a missed call on 80971-80971 and sign up with their mobile number only, without the requirement of an email id. After giving a missed call to the number, users will receive a link via sms to download the application.

MobiKwik has decided to charge no bank transfer fee till March 31^st, 2017. Using the ‘Lite’ version users can make payment even if they do not have MobiKwik wallet. In an interaction with Inc42, founder Bipin Preet Singh substantiated on MobiKwik’s ‘Bharat’ strategy. He said, that the company is looking to facilitate digital payments beyond 3G connections. “We are aiming to create the right product and create awareness about digital payments, thereby contributing the larger dream of a cashless economy.”

Talking about the app Singh said that the app was developed within 10 days by a team of 7-8 people. To popularise the app and to increase its coverage MobiKwik is planning to invest about $15 Mn and expects to gain a traction of about 17-18 Mn users in the next 90 days.

The transaction threshold of the new version are as per RBI guidelines. Currently as per the revised guidelines due to demonetisation, users can transact for upto INR 20000 per month, and the merchants can transfer up to INR 50,000 per month from these the prepaid payment instruments to their bank accounts.

The app is currently available in English and Hindi. By end of this week, the app will be available in 8 more Indian languages. Following that soon, MobiKwik Lite will work without internet connectivity.

Earlier in October 2016, MobiKwik launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on its platform. The new payment option will allow Mobikwik’s users to access online payments via the UPI with added services like net-banking, wallets, and credit/debit cards as well.