All 100 million users can transfer money to one another on the messaging app, which now supports bank-to-bank and mobile wallet payments, being the first service of this sort in India, according to TechChrunch.com. The mobile wallet is built based on payments infrastructure provided by government-backed UPI (Unified Payments Interface) system and does not require a bank account.
Hike, which successfully secured USD 175 million in a funding round led by Tencent, managed to launch its mobile payment system on its messaging app before main competitor WhatsApp, which has 200 million users in India.
Being the first to offer a new payment option does not guarantee success, analysts from research agency Ovum say. The messaging app faces intense competition from WhatsApp who has a larger base and a popular intuitive interface.
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