With short-term personal loans, MobiKwik enters consumer loan segment

MobiKwik, the Mobile wallet company, today announced that it will offer small, short-term personal loans for one-time festive buying, or allow users to register for equated monthly instalments (EMIs) from their account.

The loan approval will be done within 30 minutes, and to begin with, loans or EMIs of up to Rs 50,000 will be available for MobiKwik users, it said in a statement in Mumbai. Upasana Taku, Co-founder, MobiKwik, said,

Only 1 percent of Indians have access to credit, this presents a great opportunity for us. We are excited to venture into the consumer loan segment as it aligns with our end goal of providing fin-tech services to all.

MobiKwik is India’s largest independent mobile payments network, connecting 35 million users with one lakh retailers. Founded in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, the company has raised three rounds of funding from Sequoia Capital, American Express, Tree Line Asia, MediaTek, Net1, GMO Payment Gateway and Cisco Investments.

One of the leading digital payments platforms for online and offline merchants, MobiKwik is powering payments for big names like IRCTC, Uber, Meru Cabs, Big Bazaar, OYO Rooms, Zomato, PVR, Archies, WHSmith India, BookMyShow, Grofers, Big Basket, Dominos, Burger King, Pizza Hut, eBay, ShopClues, Myntra, Jabong, Pepperfry, Barista, Food Panda, Nearbuy, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Louis Phillips, GoDaddy and MakeMyTrip.

Also read : After closing series-C round, MobiKwik raises another $40 million funding

The mobile wallet services company had recently raised $50 million (Rs 332.6 crore) in a Series C round led by GMO, Japan’s payment gateway, and Mediatek, a Taiwan-based semiconductor company. According to reports, the money was poured into product innovation, strengthening the team and user acquisition. The Series C round, which was closed nine months ago, also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital and Treeline Asia.