MobiKwik announced a new partnership with StoreKing, that expands MobiKwik’s cash-less and card-less payment management to 10,000 retail stores in 600 small towns and 5,000 villages across the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Goa. This partnership will benefit 10 million rural users who will now be able to make payments via the MobiKwik mobile wallet in these 10,000 retail stores, as well as make payments for online purchases on the StoreKing e-commerce platform.
StoreKing is an assisted e-commerce platform that partners with a network of Kirana stores located in rural areas to establish a tablet-based wireless internet connected point-of-sale terminal.This partnership aims to bring the convenience and success of e-commerce model to rural India and is significant in enabling financial inclusion.
The 10,000 retail stores will be trained to help rural users download the MobiKwikmobile app and add cash to it to buy goods. Tablet-based terminals will provide access to StoreKing’s e-commerce platform.MobiKwik’s mobile payment solution will allow instant one-tap payments for orders placed on the terminals as well as for in-store purchases.
Announcing the collaboration, BipinPreet Singh, Founder CEO, MobiKwik said, “As we continue to work in collaboration with retailers and merchants of all sizes, MobiKwik’s mobile application will increasingly be seen as a destination for users to browse local businesses, order ahead, and transact at point-of-sale. With this partnership, we are extending the reach of MobiKwik wallet to rural Indiaand breaking barriers presented by traditional payment methods. Rural Indians no longer have to wait for banks to reach them, to open an account or to transact. They just need to download our app to kick-start their digital payments journey.”
Both the companies, MobiKwik and StoreKing will also provide free Wi-Fi connections at the stores to enable users to download the MobiKwikappon their phone. Besides paying for goods at the store, users can also use the wallet for mobile recharges, phone bill payments, DTH recharges and money transfer to other MobiKwik users.
"Rural India is the least priority area for any digital business because 90% of rural consumers do not have a bank account and rely only on cash payments. StoreKing and MobiKwik, are now bringing digital disruption to Rural India. Across South India, using the 10,000+ digital touch points of StoreKing, more than 10 million rural citizens now have the opportunity to open a MobiKwik wallet and start making digital payments for all their purchases. The digital money experience is now just a tap away for Rural India", said Sridhar Gundaiah, CEO- StoreKing
A recent report by PwC1 states that the number of rural e-commerce Internet users is growing by 58% annually, fuelled by the increase in the number of smartphones and 3G subscriptions. MobiKwik and StoreKing’s partnership is a significant step in driving the inclusion of rural Indian users into the e-commerce fold.
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