e-commerce
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.
e-commerce
ONDC names Vibhor Jain MD and CEO; Rohit Lohia joins as CBO, Manoj Thakur as CTO
Leadership formalised as open commerce network sharpens focus on scale and user value
The Open Network for Digital Commerce has formalised Vibhor Jain as managing director and chief executive officer, cementing a leadership transition at India’s ambitious open commerce platform as it pushes for scale and relevance.
Jain, who had been serving as acting chief executive officer since April last year following the exit of Thampy Koshy, steps into the role with effect from 7th April , according to a report by The Economic Times. He previously served as chief operating officer at the government-backed network, which enables buyers and sellers to transact across applications through an open, interoperable system.
Setting out his strategy, Jain underscored the network’s differentiated architecture. “Going forward, we are concentrating on what open, interoperable infrastructure can uniquely enable, things that no single platform has the incentive or the architecture to do,” he said.
He added that the immediate priority is to widen ONDC’s impact across user cohorts often underserved by platform-led commerce. “My priority is to deepen the value ONDC creates for the people it exists to serve: kisaans, karigars, kiranas, gig workers, first-time investors, and daily commuters across India,” he said.
Jain also flagged leadership reinforcement within the organisation, noting that ONDC has “a strong and exciting leadership team in place”, with Rohit Lohia joining as chief business officer and Manoj Thakur as chief technology officer.
With over 18 years of experience spanning entrepreneurship and consulting, Jain brings a track record in technology-led, large-scale transformation programmes and internet businesses. At ONDC, he has been closely involved in shaping strategy and operations as the network seeks to move digital commerce away from platform-centric models towards an open network approach.
Before ONDC, Jain worked with JUMO, where he helped set up the fintech firm’s India operations, and led the India launch of Mobike, handling regulatory, policy and operational aspects of its market entry. Earlier, he co-founded Atlanta Healthcare, an air quality management company, and spent more than a decade in consulting roles at Andersen and EY, advising governments on public policy and technology-driven reforms, including work on the Aadhaar programme and tax systems.
The mandate is clear but the path is complex. As ONDC attempts to rewrite the rules of digital commerce, Jain now carries the burden of turning open architecture into mass adoption, in a market still dominated by platform power.
