South Africa’s Net 1 is planning to inject R567 million ($40 million) over the next two years in India’s digital payment firm MobiKwik. By Staff Writer
The Nasdaq and JSE-listed tech firm informed investors on Friday that through the technology agreement, it’s Virtual Card technology will be integrated across all MobiKwik wallets in order to provide ubiquity across all merchants in India.
MobiKwik is India’s largest independent mobile payments network, with over 32 million users and 100,000 retailers.
MobiKwik’s current shareholders include Sequoia Capital, Tree Line Asia, American Express, Cisco Investments, GMO Payment Gateway and MediaTek, as well as Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, the founders and executive officers.
According to a July 2016 Google-BCG study, the size of India’s digital payments industry will reach $500 billion by 2020, representing a ten-fold increase from current levels.
The report predicts that more than 50% of India’s internet users are expected to use digital payments by 2020, and the top 100 million users are expected to drive 70% of digital payments by value. The report also predicts that the value of remittances and money transfers that will pass through alternative digital payment instruments will double to 30% by 2020.
There are many similarities between South Africa and India including highly regulated markets, limited infrastructure and large unbanked populations.
“Our strategic investment in MobiKwik provides us with meaningful participation in one ofthe largest and fastest growing digital payment markets globally,” said Serge Belamant,Chairman and CEO of Net1.
“We believe that this investment will accelerate our ability to build scale in India.Over the next three years, MobiKwik has targeted having 150 million users and 500,000 merchants, and the introduction of our various technologies is expected to enhance theirvalue proposition and differentiation to users, online and offline merchants, increaseacceptance, and accelerate growth.”
Net 1 has seen Zazoo’s global footprint expanding into 12 African countries, and it also has a presence in Colombia, India, Spain, South Korea, the Philippines, the UK and the US.
Zazoo plans to take Net1’s patented technology, such as mobile virtual card (MVC) payment app and soon-to-be launched Biometric Variable PIN, to new markets, using London as a convenient hub from which to coordinate all its global deals.
