Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) Unveiled Mobicash Mobile Wallet

Telecom BSNL collaborated with State Bank of India to launch Mobile wallet across country

India: State-owned telecommunication company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited unveiled Mobicash Mobile wallet in collaboration with State Bank of India. BSNL confirmed that mobile wallet service will be first available in four major states i.e. Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar and will be expanded to pan-India by the end of this year.

The service aimed to benefit Mobile wallet services for masses and works with smartphones and normal feature phone. Additional advantage offered by Mobicash is that users can deposit cash with BSNL retail outlet and can also withdrew money from their account without visiting banks.

The launch of new service is expected to infuse new life for the BSNL as it stood fourth largest mobile player with a total subscription of over 92.36 million. BSNL was running in losses earlier but has start posting operation profit recently.            

TechSci Research depicts that with the bold steps taken by government owing to demonetisation, cashless transaction is becoming need of an hour and inclusion of rural India to adopt mobile wallet services will push cashless transactions manifolds.

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.