With 20K users and 1.2 M seed round, mobile payment platform Momoe plans presence in 3 cities
We hate to wait in a queue for paying bills in the hyper market or brick and mortar stores. While we use mobile wallets for online shopping, recharge, cab ride etc, we generally miss virtual wallets in the offline world. The Bangalore- based mobile payment solution Momoe lets you view their live bills at brick and mortar outlets like restaurants, grocery stores etc. and checkout at their convenience without having to wait for their bills.
Last week Momoe had raised $1.2 million seed round of funding led by IDG Ventures India, Jungle Ventures and India Quotient. The company will be using funds for growth and expansion. “With this capital we target to have one million users and 2000 merchants using our platform by the end of this calendar year,” says Karthik Vaidyanathan, Co-Founder, Momoe.
Momoe will also expand to New Delhi (NCR) and Mumbai in another three months. Momoe believes that in a couple of years people will no longer need to carry cash or plastic as its users just need to carry their smartphone and pay for any real world transactions using the app.
Currently, the company has over 20,000 app users along with 100 merchants using its platform. “Our immediate plan is to bring 500 merchants by end of May this year,” adds Karthik.
Momoe allows people to view their live tab through their meal, split bills with friends and pay without having to wait for the bill. Going forward, it aims to eliminate cash handling for restaurant home deliveries.
For merchants, Momoe provides insights on consumer preferences and being able to reach out to consumers with the right offers that their customers would value. Vithata, owner of Prost Brewpub in Koramangala, an early adopter of Momoe at his restaurant says, “Customers love the convenience of viewing their live bill and splitting it with their friends. Momoe resonates with our tech savvy customers. Waiter productivity has improved significantly and partnering with Momoe for promotions has given us one of our highest billing days.”
The company plans to expand to next city (Mumbai or Delhi) along with top seven Indian cities by end of 2016. Momoe also has global ambitions and will roll out pilots in neighbouring Asian market (Singapore or Dubai).
To some extent, Momoe competes with iKaaz’s MOWA which facilitates consumers and merchants to make and receive payments in an easy and convenient manner, based on their mobile number. Importantly, the app is free and supports all banks in India. MOWA has been launched jointly by iKaaz and DCB Bank.
India is gradually moving towards a cashless economy; however it’s not an easy ride. Apex banking body RBI’s strict regulation of two factor authentication does hamper the user experience but then security can’t be compromised at the same time.
Though in the recent past, RBI’s policies suggest that it might enable single factor authentication for low value transactions. If this regulation is passed this year, we would witness a new revolution in the mobile payments space.