Aircel to Gain Customer Loyalty with Mobile Wallet Service

Telecom major was issued license in February to launch its mobile wallet service

India: Aircel, the latest in fray of mobile wallet industry launched its service in February, 2016 and holds 80 million odd customer base. The company aims to use the service to retain its customer.

Aircel provides remittances, online recharges, payments and integration with merchants targeting rural and value seeking urban population. The company also plans to offer customised service to customer at certain specified location

The mobile wallet industry is heating up with several banks and non-financial players entering the domain. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), mobile wallet recorded 748 million transactions valued at USD7214.79 million (INR 48,800 crore) in 2015-16. RBI has allowed telecom companies to set up payment banks however Aircel has not applied for payment bank and believes that mobile wallet will provide services such as payment banks.

TechSci Research depicts that with growing awareness of mobile wallet and majority of the transactions still done in cash is paving way for high usage of e-wallet services. The companies offering mobile wallet services are entering into partnership with retail outlets and other companies to power e-cash payments. Mobile wallet market in India is surging on account of growing online transactions, rising trend towards mobile banking, and ease of usage of mobile wallet applications.

According to the recent report published by TechSci Research, “India Mobile Wallet Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2020”, the mobile wallet market in India is forecast to reach US$ 6.6 billion by 2020. Growing awareness regarding the benefits of mobile wallets, rising smartphone and mobile internet penetration rates, and increasing security measures are expected to drive growth in India mobile wallet market. In 2014, Tier-I cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, etc., registered the highest number of mobile wallet users in the country, while Tier II cities such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Indore, Patna, etc. are emerging cities in terms of mobile wallet usage. Banking accounted for the largest end user sector in the country’s mobile wallet market in 2014, followed by retail, telecom and transportation sectors. Few of the leading companies operating in India mobile wallet market include One97 Communication Pvt. Ltd., MobiKwik and ItzCash.