History
MobiKwik was founded in 2009[9] by the husband and wife duo, Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku.[10] Singh, a 2002 graduate of IIT Delhi, seeded the company, developed the website and payment options, and rented office space in Dwarka, Delhi.[11] The initial service was a website with a closed wallet facility, but over the years, MobiKwik extended their service to mobile apps.[12] The company initially partnered with online merchants to make their wallet available as a payment option on e-commerce sites.[13]
MobiKwik launched a digital wallet system in 2012 that enabled users to deposit money online to use for bill payments and other features.[11] MobiKwik's semi-closed wallet was authorized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2013.[14][15] They also introduced the feature of sending and receiving money via a mobile app.[16] In September 2014, Express Computer reported that MobiKwik was partnering with GoDaddy and other international companies to help them comply with Indian payment regulations.[17] In April 2015, MobiKwik claimed to have 15 million users, according to Forbes India magazine.[3]
In 2015, MobiKwik raised $25 million in Series B funding from Chinese investment firm Tree Line Asia, Sequoia Capital, Cisco Systems and American Express.[18] In May 2016, the company announced a $50 million Series C round, led by GMO Internet and MediaTek, along with existing investors including Sequoia and Treeline Asia.[19]
In a partnership with CashCare, MobiKwik began providing small loans between ₹500–₹2,500 to customers in May 2016.[20] The company launched its MobiKwik Lite mobile app in November 2016, designed for users of older 2G mobile networks and for those in areas with poor internet connectivity.[21] In the same month, MobiKwik had over 1.5 million merchants using its service and 55 million users.[6] Following the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation in November 2016, MobiKwik witnessed a 400% increase in financial transactions using the service by late December 2016.[22]
In August 2017, Bajaj Finance picked up 10.83% stake in MobiKwik for ₹225 crore.[23]
In 2019, MobiKwik announced a new partnership with DT One to expand their service internationally.[24] In 2019, the company began offering loans, insurance and investment advice.[24]
In May 2020, Mobikwik was briefly removed from the Google Play Store for violation of Google's advertisement policy.[25]
On 25 February 2021, an Indian security researcher named Rajshekhar Rajaharia claimed that a hacker group called Jordandaven stole the KYC details of nearly 100 million MobiKwik users from a company server and put them up for sale on the dark web.[26] On 4 March 2021, company denied the claim and said it would take legal action against the researcher. Later, multiple independent researchers and users confirmed that their Mobikwik data was available online,[27] and on 30 March 2021, TechCrunch reported that company was hiring a third-party to conduct a forensic data security audit.[28]
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority purchased a 2.7% stake in MobiKwik for $20 million in June 2021.[29] The Economic Times reported that MobiKwik had reached a valuation of $1 billion in October 2021, following a secondary employee stock ownership sale led by former Blackstone India chief Mathew Cyriac.[30] The same year, MobiKwik filed for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise inr 19000000000,[31] but later deferred its IPO plans.[32]
In 2022, Mobikiwik suspended transactions from its e-wallet services to all major crypto exchanges in India.[33]
In September 2024, MobiKwik received criticism after it suspended "anytime withdrawals" on its Xtra peer-to-peer lending platform. Investors complained that their money was being reinvested in new borrowers without their consent.[34][35] MobiKwik stated that the withdrawal policy was changed by its P2P partner Lendbox and that users will not be able to withdraw their money as per previous terms.[36]
In December 2024, the company launched its initial public offering and raised ₹572 crore.[37]
