Are Mobile Payments Platform MobiKwik’s Days Numbered?

June 19, 2024         By: Steven Anderson

MobiKwik has come a long way from its start; it may not have had first-mover advantage, but it was certainly near the front of the line. Now, however, in a field where mobile payments are increasingly mainstream—especially in India, where MobiKwik operates—MobiKwik is facing troubles on all sides, to the point where some are questioning if the platform can even stay operational.

MobiKwik did well in the beginning, stepping into the field a little after some of its early competition. Now, however, competition is increasingly thick in the field, not just from its countrymen like Paytm and Phonepe, both backed by major firms (Paytm is a Softbank and Alibaba creature, while Phonepe is backed by Flipkart, at last report), but also from foreign competition. Google’s Tez product is a major issue in the region, and Facebook’s WhatsApp Pay is a likewise major-supported operation.

MobiKwik isn’t without backing of its own, including Cisco and Sequoia Capital, among others, so its faltering in the field is an unusual development. Some believe that the poor showing so far has been attributable to bad luck, like when it missed a payments bank license opportunity, or just poor planning, like when it missed a chance to get in on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system. Some might call it a combination, but no matter what, the end result is the same: MobiKwik is lagging.

A former MobiKwik executive noted “It is not that MobiKwik never grew. It has grown many times over the last few years, but when you have your closest competition seeing everything turning to gold, the benchmark just keeps getting higher.”

The question is, what can MobiKwik do to turn this around? With competitors like Paytm well ahead of the pack, MobiKwik’s potential saving grace is to bring out services its competitors aren’t, can’t, or won’t offer. A connection to one of its own backers, Bajaj Finance, may help on this front, but regardless of the what, MobiKwik must move quickly to avoid complete failure.

MobiKwik has a good position in the field, and if it can diversify its product line, it may be able to fend off its competitors in a very tight market. Mobile payments aren’t going away in India, but one of the biggest options in the region may well do so.