MobiKwik launches UPI on its platform

Financial services platform and mobile wallet MobiKwik on Wednesday announced that it has launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on its platform via its own VPA (virtual payment address) handle @ikwik.

It will also be offering UPI access to the 3 million merchants on its app, while offering Bharat QR, UPI QR, and intent functionality for merchant payments. Additionally, all MobiKwik users will be able to do P2P bank transfers using UPI.

In a release, MobiKwik stated that its UPI app is 100 percent in compliance with the NPCI guidelines.

Speaking on the announcement, Bipin Preet Singh, Founder and CEO, MobiKwik, said, 

“Our strength lies in user experience, the wide network of merchants, and the numerous daily life use-cases we power. We intend to provide all payments options, including wallets, virtual cards and UPI, to ensure convenience across our user base.”

Bipin also said that with the roll out of UPI, MobiKwik expects a reduction in the usage of debit cards and internet banking on the MobiKwik app, as UPI will offer a better user experience.

MobiKwik’s users can, by default, use their mobile number as their own VPA, which will be ‘<Mobile no>@ikwik’. They will also be able to link multiple bank accounts with just one VPA, and users can change their primary account as per their requirements.

Users can simply scan and generate UPI QR functionality to send and receive money using VPA and phone number from the contact list. If the receiver is also registered in MobiKwik UPI ecosystem, they can send money by selecting his contact from phone book without remembering VPA domain. It will also be possible for the users to request money using UPI on the MobiKwik app.

MobiKwik has its own customised VPA handle “@ikwik” for making payments unlike existing UPI-based services offered by non-banking entities. Safety has been given utmost priority in MobiKwik UPI app, and users can be assured about their data security, even in case of loss of SIM or device.

On the other end, Paytm’s arch competitor, Noida-based Paytm, registered 62.9 million UPI transactions on its platform, which was launched in November, last year.

While, Bengaluru based PhonePe registered clocked close to 42.4 million UPI transfers in April.

Last month, total UPI transactions reportedly reached close to 190 million, a rise from 178.05 million transactions in March, and a slower rise from 171.40 million transactions in February this year.

While these numbers may seem promising, the growth rate at which UPI may be averaging is not more than a rounded 8 percent.