With the changing Indian e-wallet space and growing competition, the digital wallet companies in the country are fighting it out to gain a bigger market share. The current e-commerce payment system is already facing a tough time due to rigid RBI norms overcrowded by multiple players.
With a handful of e-wallets a few years back, the Indian wallet space has now around of dozen of international and local companies operating in the segment. From the SoftBank and Alibaba backed Paytm, to Flipkart-owned Phonepe to giants like Google Tez, Amazon Pay, PayPal and Facebook-owned WhatsApp Pay, the e-payments space is in an amalgamated state right now.
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The Potential Market
Since demonetisation, the Indian market has been upheld as a potential cashless market. The market was mainly dominated by local players like Paytm, FreeCharge and MobiKwik back then, but several international players have entered the market with the support from UPI.
Only Paytm has successfully dealt with the competition and remains a top player. Its proper market research and diversification has helped Paytm to stand out in the crowd.
MobiKwik Losing Out
Once considered as a direct competitor to market leader Paytm, MobiKwik is currently in a huge mess. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Cisco Investments and American Express Ventures, MobiKwik couldn’t hold its position in the market. Bajaj Finance last year bought a part of MobiKwik’s stake to push in fresh funds.
On the other hand, FreeCharge was in the same condition under Snapdeal. But, after Snapdeal sold FreeCharge to Axis Bank to save its own turf against Flipkart last year, FreeCharge is again back in the game.
No Payments Bank & Late UPI Integration
Paytm has kept on diversifying with its services and it has helped the e-commerce payment company to enter a lot of segments in the consumer service market. MobiKwik has failed to secure a payments bank licence and was very late to get into the Unified Payments Interface.
After being in the second spot after Paytm for years now, MobiKwik has now been overtaken by new entrants like Flipkart-owned PhonePe and Google Tez.
The Wrong Approach
The Supercash on MobiKwik has been heavily criticized for luring in customers without giving back any actual benefit to the user. The e-payments industry experts have always questioned the nature of MobiKwik’s business. Without any diverse option or service available, it has always remained a big threat to the company’s sustainability.
The Indian digital wallet space is very different in terms of consumer choice. The market is mainly driven by the best deals and offers available, rather than the user experience, which makes customer acquisition in India very expensive.
WhatsApp Payments Rolled Out For Masses
After a year-long wait, the much-awaited WhatsApp Payments is finally here, and most importantly for all. The largest social messaging company in the world has opened up its maiden in-app Payments service in the country.
After a beta-launch a few months, the wider rollout was delayed due to the legal troubles with parent company Facebook. Backed by UPI, the WhatsApp payments will now allow users to send and receive money within WhatsApp.
How Does WhatsApp Payments Work?
To set up the WhatsApp Payments, you just simply need link your bank account with your registered mobile number and authenticate your bank account using the OTP. After you register, you can send and receive money within the app in the chat window with other users.
WhatsApp payments also work via QR codes. You can send or receive money by scanning QR Codes. The WhatsApp Payments will have a Rs 5,000 limit per transaction.