Tag: Upasana Taku

  • MobiKwik’s journey spotted on Bharat FinTech story streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

    MobiKwik’s journey spotted on Bharat FinTech story streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

    Mumbai: MobiKwik, a digital financial services platforms, is to be featured in the “Bharat Fintech Story” documentary series, produced by Edstead. This compelling series, now available for streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, highlights MobiKwik’s transformative impact on India’s financial ecosystem by empowering over 150 million people across the country with digital financial products and services.

    The Bharat Fintech Story is the first-of-its-kind docu-series spotlighting five fintech startups that are revolutionizing financial services in India. Among these trailblazers, MobiKwik’s journey is particularly notable, showcasing its evolution from a one-room home office to becoming the first fintech in India to achieve full-year profitability and now preparing for its debut on the stock exchange.

    The documentary delves into the story of MobiKwik’s founders, Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, and their mission to simplify digital payments and promote financial inclusion for millions of Indians. Through candid interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, viewers gain insight into the challenges, achievements, and milestones that have defined MobiKwik’s journey.

    One of the key highlights of the episode is MobiKwik’s relentless pursuit of bridging the digital divide, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. From simplifying everyday transactions, and effectively connecting merchants with users to offering seamless credit options, the docu-series showcases how MobiKwik continues to play a pivotal role in the financial lives of millions.

    “MobiKwik’s inclusion in this series is a testament to our commitment to driving financial inclusion and empowering every Indian with digital financial services,” said MobiKwik  co-founder and CFO Upasana Taku. “We are honored to share our story on such a prestigious platform and hope it inspires more entrepreneurs to create meaningful change in the world of fintech.”

    The episode also highlights MobiKwik’s diverse range of products, which serve the hinterlands of India, showcasing its impact in reaching and supporting underserved regions.

    The Bharat Fintech Story on Disney+ Hotstar is a must-watch for anyone interested in the dynamic world of fintech and the future of digital financial services in India.

  • MobiKwik elevates Chandan Joshi as co-founder & CEO of payments business

    MobiKwik elevates Chandan Joshi as co-founder & CEO of payments business

    NEW DELHI: Fintech platform MobiKwik has promoted Chandan Joshi as the company’s co-founder and CEO, payments business.

    Joshi has been part of the MobiKwik leadership team for the last 2.5 years as senior vice president, payments, managing all the payment businesses of the company. This is the first time the company has bestowed the co-founder title on anyone outside the original founding team.

    Chandan is now the third co-Founder of MobiKwik in addition to Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku. With this appointment, the fintech platform has kick started its IPO 2022 campaign.  

    Read more news on MobiKwik

    As CEO payments business, Chandan he will take on complete ownership of the company’s flagship payments business which drives 75 per cent of the revenues. While he was already driving the business (sales, marketing, product, engineering) in his existing role, all functions in the Payments BU will now report into him.

    Joshi said, “My journey with MobiKwik so far has been very fulfilling – I joined in the aftermath of Demonetization and my first assignment was organizing the retail payments business, then to run eCommerce payments and finally to grow all of the Payments business. The team and culture at MobiKwik have been a good fit for me. I share a good rapport with Upasana and Bipin and share their vision of delivering on the Digital Credit Card opportunity. I am confident that together we will be able to profitably grow MobiKwik and take the company public.”

    Singh says, “It has been fantastic seeing Chandan build the Payments Business for the past 2 years with amazing zeal and conviction. 

    Chandan has demonstrated all the right traits that we look for in a business leader – he leads from the front, is invested in his teams, is tenacious in driving business results and in closing large strategic deals. He has been a strong growth driver for MobiKwik and we want him to partner with us as a co-founder in the overall build-out of the company.”

    Chandan’s professional journey so far has prepared him well for his role at MobiKwik. Chandan returned to India in 2015 and founded Paketts, an innovative last mile logistics service company. He successfully exited the business after Paketts was acquired by Nuvo Logistics (Peppertap) in 2017. Prior to being an entrepreneur, Chandan was a financial trader in global financial markets with Credit Suisse in London & Hong Kong. Chandan did his Engineering from IIT Delhi and his MBA from London Business School.

    MobiKwik has reported strong financial results: net revenue growth of 133 per cent year over year to Rs 379 crores and cash EBITDA loss reduction of 91 per cent year over year to Rs 8.5 crores. In the report, the brand has spoken passionately about fulfilling a Billion Indian Dreams by making an everlasting impact on Bharat with our digital payment and fintech products. Having delivered three straight years of greater than 100 per cent revenue growth amid stiff competition, MobiKwik claims to have demonstrated strong execution and financial discipline.

     

  • Day-long cash queues activate Jugnoo digital & MobiKwik transfers

    Day-long cash queues activate Jugnoo digital & MobiKwik transfers

    MUMBAI: Yours digitally — seems to be the new salutation. Owing to demonetisation, queues outside banks and ATM centres only seem to get longer. With people trying to exchange their old currency, the use of debit and credit cards has suddenly come into prominence.

    Keeping the demand in mind, MobiKwik has announced that it is prepared to serve over 300 million users with secure, seamless payments. The company already has over 35 million users and is witnessing over 40 per cent more app downloads on a daily basis. It hopes to have over 10 million users on its platform within the next 30 days alone.

    “We have scaled up our infrastructure within the last few days and are prepared to manage over 300 million users and over 100 million daily transactions,” said MobiKwik co-founder Upasana Taku. The company has launched a user support number that is operational 24×7. Users can call to download MobiKwik app and start sending or receiving money for free. It has registered 18 x growths in transactions since the announcement of demonetization.

    Users can load money using their credit/debit cards or netbanking. They can also convert their Payback points, earned from ICICI bank debit/credit cards, Big Bazaar, Central, HP Petrol Pumps, MakeMyTrip, eBay, BookMyShow and American Express; and reward points earned from SBI, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank & Bank of Baroda to MobiKwik cash.

    MobiKwik money can be transferred to any mobile number or bank account instantly. Whereas, Jugnoo has witnessed an unprecedented growth in transactions executed using digital wallets. The leading auto-rickshaw aggregator, which is currently operational in over 40 Indian cities, has registered an increase of up to 80 percent cashless transactions across all locations via its platform.

    The top five cities where Jugnoo has registered the highest number of cashless payments post the demonetization announcement are: Gurgaon, Mysore, Chandigarh, Noida, and Pune. These cities have recorded 100 to 150 per cent spike in digital transactions.

    “We welcome the government’s move to demonetize high denomination currency in an effort to curb the entry of black money in India, and by extension, encourage the masses to go digital. At Jugnoo, We have always advocated safe & secure cashless transactions as it provides convenience and eliminates the cash handling process. We are educating our customers to use digital payment wallets as much as possible instead of cards or cash, and are encouraging them to use such options on a permanent basis,” said Jugnoo co-founder and chief technology officer Chinmay Agarwal.

    Apart from digital wallets, Jugnoo also recently announced that it would be introducing UPI (Unified Payment Interface) as an initiative to uphold the cashless economy of country. Earlier this year, the company took another step in this direction via a very innovative move of empowering auto-rickshaw drivers to recharge the customers’ Paytm wallet to address the issue of returning change after completing the ride. Further supporting the cause, Jugnoo is also planning to tie-up with Payment banks, a new model of banks conceptualized by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) last year that enable transfer of money through a mobile phone.

    “We have tried to go cashless since the outset as it provides convenience to both customers and us. Coincidentally we were celebrating the month as NoChangeNovember to educate the customers towards the cause. However, we did have the COD (Cash on Delivery) option due to the nature of our business and the Indian customer’s preference for cash payment. Following the recent development in demonetized bank notes, we have informed all our drivers to stop accepting cash till further notice, and are also educating our customers to use digital wallets as much as possible instead of plastic cards or cash,” he added further.

    The most common digital wallets that are being presently used by Jugnoo users to make payments are – Paytm, Mobikwik, and Freecharge.

  • Day-long cash queues activate Jugnoo digital & MobiKwik transfers

    Day-long cash queues activate Jugnoo digital & MobiKwik transfers

    MUMBAI: Yours digitally — seems to be the new salutation. Owing to demonetisation, queues outside banks and ATM centres only seem to get longer. With people trying to exchange their old currency, the use of debit and credit cards has suddenly come into prominence.

    Keeping the demand in mind, MobiKwik has announced that it is prepared to serve over 300 million users with secure, seamless payments. The company already has over 35 million users and is witnessing over 40 per cent more app downloads on a daily basis. It hopes to have over 10 million users on its platform within the next 30 days alone.

    “We have scaled up our infrastructure within the last few days and are prepared to manage over 300 million users and over 100 million daily transactions,” said MobiKwik co-founder Upasana Taku. The company has launched a user support number that is operational 24×7. Users can call to download MobiKwik app and start sending or receiving money for free. It has registered 18 x growths in transactions since the announcement of demonetization.

    Users can load money using their credit/debit cards or netbanking. They can also convert their Payback points, earned from ICICI bank debit/credit cards, Big Bazaar, Central, HP Petrol Pumps, MakeMyTrip, eBay, BookMyShow and American Express; and reward points earned from SBI, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank & Bank of Baroda to MobiKwik cash.

    MobiKwik money can be transferred to any mobile number or bank account instantly. Whereas, Jugnoo has witnessed an unprecedented growth in transactions executed using digital wallets. The leading auto-rickshaw aggregator, which is currently operational in over 40 Indian cities, has registered an increase of up to 80 percent cashless transactions across all locations via its platform.

    The top five cities where Jugnoo has registered the highest number of cashless payments post the demonetization announcement are: Gurgaon, Mysore, Chandigarh, Noida, and Pune. These cities have recorded 100 to 150 per cent spike in digital transactions.

    “We welcome the government’s move to demonetize high denomination currency in an effort to curb the entry of black money in India, and by extension, encourage the masses to go digital. At Jugnoo, We have always advocated safe & secure cashless transactions as it provides convenience and eliminates the cash handling process. We are educating our customers to use digital payment wallets as much as possible instead of cards or cash, and are encouraging them to use such options on a permanent basis,” said Jugnoo co-founder and chief technology officer Chinmay Agarwal.

    Apart from digital wallets, Jugnoo also recently announced that it would be introducing UPI (Unified Payment Interface) as an initiative to uphold the cashless economy of country. Earlier this year, the company took another step in this direction via a very innovative move of empowering auto-rickshaw drivers to recharge the customers’ Paytm wallet to address the issue of returning change after completing the ride. Further supporting the cause, Jugnoo is also planning to tie-up with Payment banks, a new model of banks conceptualized by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) last year that enable transfer of money through a mobile phone.

    “We have tried to go cashless since the outset as it provides convenience to both customers and us. Coincidentally we were celebrating the month as NoChangeNovember to educate the customers towards the cause. However, we did have the COD (Cash on Delivery) option due to the nature of our business and the Indian customer’s preference for cash payment. Following the recent development in demonetized bank notes, we have informed all our drivers to stop accepting cash till further notice, and are also educating our customers to use digital wallets as much as possible instead of plastic cards or cash,” he added further.

    The most common digital wallets that are being presently used by Jugnoo users to make payments are – Paytm, Mobikwik, and Freecharge.