Mobikwik sees spike in merchant enrolment in Tier II, III; registers 3k% growth

Indian mobile wallet major MobiKwik has said that Tier II and Tier III towns are leading the next level of growth in cashless transactions as the steps initiated by the Central Government to promote digital payments in smaller towns are yielding results. States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand are leading this growth as more and more merchants begin accepting digital payments. “The Government’s move to incentivize use of digital payments and extending loans based on a digital footprint has created a larger merchant ecosystem for digital payments,” said Co-Founder MobiKwik, Upasana Taku.

The mobile wallet major has seen a 3000 percent increase in merchant enrolments from such regions. The company now powers digital payments for over 14 lakh merchants pan India.

In the recent Union Budget for 2017-18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made provisions like expanding the Bharat Net project that promises to be a game changer in digitizing rural India.

He allocated Rs. 10,000 crore to Bharat Net for providing digital access to over 150,000 gram panchayats, while also improving the fiber optic network in the rural regions.

“Besides, GST and increased allocations to policies like M-SIPS and EDF will further reduce the cost of owning a smartphone, hence making it easier for users from Tier II, III, and IV cities and towns to transition online,” added Upasana.

The app is now available in eight languages including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu to enable more consumers adopt digital mode of payments.

Source: The Financial Express