At present, out of eleven payments banks, only five – Paytm, Airtel, Fino, Jio and India Posts – are operational payment banks. In the absence of a profitable business model and revenues, many payment banks have shut shop in the past few months. The platform is aimed to enable merchants and retailers to receive cashless payments from customers.

“But m-banking is needed for the unbanked population who don’t have debit and credit cards. And they require cash out, which is not available today.” To Vodafone’s advantage, therefore, is the limited banking infrastructure in the country and the migrant workers’ need to send money home in a secure manner. What helps is that Vodafone has a distribution network that spans 1.7 million touch points, and deep penetration in rural India – of its 170 million users, 53 per cent are in rural areas.

Vodafone’s agents – some of who are also business correspondents – then hand over the money to the recipients. So, Geeta, Choti and Lilima – and several others – finally got their money through M-Pesa. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of the demonetisation move on November 8 led to long serpentine queues outside banks and ATMs to withdraw money or get their old notes exchanged. Former prime minister and renowned economist Dr. Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that the move was ‘monumental mismanagement’ by the Modi government. He also said that though he did not disagree with the objectives behind the decision, the GDP of the country could shrink by 2 percentage points due to the implementation of demonetisation. Vodafone India recently took steps to ensure that its 8.4 million M-Pesa customers can encash their digital money from specified outlets.

To promote digital India dream, Vodafone has recently launched M-Pesa PAY, a digital payment platform for merchants and retailers. Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies with over 419 million customers in its controlled and jointly controlled markets as of 31 December 2013. Vodafone has equity interests in telecommunications operations in nearly 30 countries and around 50 partner networks worldwide. Suresh Sethi brings with him 27 years of experience in the financial services industry with Citi group, Yes Bank and Vodafone. Vodafone m-pesa was one of the 11 companies given the license to run a payments bank by the RBI, back in 2015. No longer stuck in long queues, running for your banking transactions during office hours or travelling long distances to deposit or withdraw money.

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Finally, Vodafone’s M-Pesa service was rolled out in April 2013, in the circles of West Bengal, Kolkata, Bihar and Jharkhand. M-Pesa users, who could enrol in M-Pesa by a one-time payment ofRs 100, also needed to open an account with ICICI Bank. To avail cash withdrawal, customers need to carry an identity proof to their nearest Vodafone M-Pesa outlet from where they can withdraw money, subject to availability, in line with RBI guidelines.

• Talking about M-Pesa, which is Vodafone’s M-Wallet offering, the adoption has been low owing to factors such as awareness and lack of ICT networks.
• Each transaction is triggered by the active mobile number and a confidential PIN of the user.
• Given this nature of the product, it remains too early to evaluate the success and impact of M-Pesa.
• M-Pesa had more than 8.4 million customers in India, according to data on the Vodafone website dated January 5, 2017.
• It started as a means to buy airtime and make micro-loan repayments using the network of Safaricom airtime resellers.

M-Pesa is a type of commercial banking service where M-Pesa users can withdraw cash money from a wide network including airtime resellers and retail outlets that serve as banking agents. As the existing digital payment methods require a bank account and internet/smartphone, until these gaps are filled, complete financial inclusion will remain a developmental challenge. Most developing countries face similar challenges, and some of them have successfully tackled these through the innovative use of technology. One such example is M-Pesa in Kenya, where ‘M’ stands for mobile and ‘Pesa’ for money. M-Pesa was introduced in Kenya as an initiative for financial inclusion geared towards its unbanked or under-banked population. This is a virtual banking system that provides services through a SIM card with no requirement of internet access and bank accounts.

The development comes five months after Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd CEO Sudhakar Ramasubramanian announced the shut down after 17 months of operation. “Following the cancellation of the CoA, the company cannot transact the business of issuance and operation of Prepaid Payment Instruments ,” said the RBI in a release. Advertising with The Banking & Finance Post, a unique opportunity to reach a huge global audience in the BFSI domain, we assure to present your brand’s message in a bigger and more beautiful way than any other platform. Like us on Facebook, connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest. Explaining about the app and its relevance, Sunil Sood, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Vodafone India, said the Prime Minister has set forth “the vision of a Digital India and a less cash economy”. 30-day online access to the magazine articles published during the subscription period.

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The e-Rupi system allows m pesa in indias of purpose- specific prepaid vouchers that need no debit card, credit card, mobile bank application, internet connection, etc, to be used. An e-Rupi voucher will be sent to the user as an SMS (for non-smartphone users) or QR Code . This will enable particular digital payments, not just from phones to digital recipients, but also from digital senders to offline payees. Announcing this, Suresh Sethi, business head, Vodafone M-Pesa said, “Vodafone M-Pesa customers do not need to stand in long queues outside ATMs and bank branches for cash. We have invested in building a nationwide network of over 120,000 M-Pesa outlets, equivalent to the numbers of bank branches in the country. Over 56 per cent of these outlets are located in the rural India, enabling last mile disbursement in the hinterland.

That was when Vodafone had tied up with HDFC Bank to become a banking correspondent in a small village called Sikar, in Rajasthan’s Jaipur district. The pilot was small, and wasn’t scalable then due to regulatory problems – the government had yet not given mobile wallet licences to operators. Vodafone was dependent on HDFC Bank to get the wallet activated, which took anything between eight and 10 days. “We wanted to understand distribution and customer need,” says Suresh Sethi, head of M-Pesa in India. Sending money through banks becomes impossible for the millions of villagers who migrate to big cities for work.

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At the same time, government assistance schemes like JSY and employment plans like MNREGA have given rise to a new breed of middlemen. This unscrupulous lot takes commissions to disburse the money to the beneficiaries, but don’t always deliver. And the cheated beneficiary is none the wiser, largely due to ignorance and illiteracy. Videonetics appoints D-RON as an authorised VAD for Singapore & MalaysiaVideonetics has announced a partnership with D-Ron Singapore Pte Ltd, and D-Ron Malay… Numeric launches its e-shop for UPSNumeric UPS has announced the launch of its very own E-Shop, for a wide range of uninterru… Pine Labs collaborates with ICICI Bank over acceptance of Digital Rupee on its PoS terminalsPine Labs announced the acceptance of digital Rupee on its PoS terminals in partnership wi…

MSC experts studied the ease of use of the USSD service from a user perspective to review navigation and content. We conducted primary research in five states in India to develop recommendations on improving the UI of M-Pesa’s USSD platform and suggestions for improvement in platform communications. M-Pesa implemented these changes, which had a positive impact on its 3-million-strong customer base at the time. MSC experts conducted primary research in five states in India to develop recommendations on improving the UI of M-Pesa’s USSD platform and suggestions for improvement in platform communications. The intervention had a positive impact on Vodafone India’s customer base of 3 million users at the time. The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation of digital payment wallet Vodafone m-pesa Limited.

Vodafone M-PESA currently has the largest business correspondent network in the country. According to the company, the distribution network of M-Pesa is almost equal to the total Banking presence in India. PM Modi in his first “Mann Ki Baat” post the demonetization drive has cited Kenya`s M-Pesa as an example of an ideal cashless economy.

M-Pesa App

Continued worries about the health of the US regional banks, which dragged Wall Street down on Thursday night, also contributed to declines. Given this nature of the product, it remains too early to evaluate the success and impact of M-Pesa. A strategy for customer acquisition, particularly focused at the bottom of the pyramid, is likely to be the key driver. So, the enrolments and benefits of M-Pesa are not likely to grow smoothly over time, but are likely to exhibit significant “breaks” as the service crosses certain critical thresholds. Hence the thrust on hooking up large-scale vendors like railway ticket service, a node that touches hundreds of thousands of people and helps M-Pesa jump over to a new threshold in its network effect. M-Pesa was started in Kenya in 2007 by Safaricom, a 90- per cent Vodafone subsidiary, as a corporate social responsibility activity.

From digital wallets bringing up more merchants online to banks declaring turning villages into digital economies, solutions have started being implemented. Vodafone customers can download the application by sending an SMS “TICKET” to 111. Once accessed, the app prompts users with interactive and guided menu options towards booking tickets. A programme for payment of MGNREGS wages through mobile phones was launched at Rampa gram panchayat in Odisha’s Ganjam district.

Tech Mahindra, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company and a consortium of Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank Ltd and Telenor Financial Services surrendered their payments banks licence even before commencing their business. However, the success of M-Pesa in India on a scale comparable to Kenya looks like a long haul. A lot of this is because people still rely on the bank to deposit money, and are not comfortable transferring money over mobile. India might not have the same problem as Kenya, but mobile money still holds up an interesting solution for money transfer to rural areas. Once that was done, the government sent information on the beneficiaries – and the money – to the banking system that was linked with the M-Pesa accounts.

• M-Pesa was started in Kenya in 2007 by Safaricom, a 90- per cent Vodafone subsidiary, as a corporate social responsibility activity.
• Faircent is the only alternative lending platform which was featured in the Interbrand Breakthrough Brands report in which 200 brands were nominated by a network of key influencers.
• Once accessed, the app prompts users with interactive and guided menu options towards booking tickets.
• M-Pesa app now supports SMS channels, you can now use the M-Pesa App even though you don’t have access to a mobile network.
• To avail, customers need to carry an identity proof to their nearest Vodafone M-Pesa outlet from where they are able to withdraw money in line with RBI guidelines.

Vodafone Idea Ltd has decided to close m-pesa vertical following the closure of Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd , in which it was being merged with, a top official said on Monday. The longest serving director currently on board is Tripti Pande Desai who was appointed on 20 March, 2015. The most recently appointed director is Murthy Gundu Venkat Anand Srinivas, who was appointed on 30 October, 2021. An easy-to-read PDF report on the company that includes five year financial information, ratio analysis, management, group structure, shareholding pattern and more.

Nearly 17 months after it began operations, ABIPBL on July 20 announced winding up of its business on account of “unanticipated developments” that made its economic model “unviable”. Financial inclusion is the need of the hour in a country like India and it has been emphasised enough by government, companies and individuals. The RBI’s pilot project on M-Wallet has been an important factor within the e-commerce industry and I believe it is heading in the right direction.

This new transfer system could be put to widespread use in public- service delivery, as it allows for money to be spent only for intended purposes and reaches the correct beneficiary. Vodafone is the world’s largest and leading provider of mobile payment services through ‘MPesa’, which offers millions of people including the unbanked and underserviced sections of society, basic financial services. All new customers who transfer money using their M-Pesa account anywhere in India will get one mobile money transaction free every month for six months. Vodafone M-Pesa partnership with the PSPCL is one such initiative that bridges the need for a simple, timely and cashless electricity bill payment solution through the mobile phone”.

Sharma said that decision to close down payments bank business is also part of the company’s strategy to focus on core business which is the telecom business. Vodafone Idea wrote off Rs 210 crore in the June quarter on account of decision to close its payments bank business. Talking about M-Pesa, which is Vodafone’s M-Wallet offering, the adoption has been low owing to factors such as awareness and lack of ICT networks. For this platform to thrive it is imperative that India also reaches a healthy stage of digital inclusion, that is, connectivity for all.

Our customers can visit any of these outlets and use the unique cash out feature of Vodafone M-Pesa to withdraw cash from their digital wallet at their convenience.” Service providers are likely to see more benefits of signing up if their customers are into mobile money. There, of course, M-Pesa will have to battle it out with other bank account or credit card-based forms of mobile payments, but that should be a familiar battleground for Vodafone. India’s biggest mobile operator Bharti Airtel launched Airtel Money in January 2011.

In November 2011 M-Pesa was founded as a close collaboration with ICICI bank in India. Vodafone India had collaborated with both ICICI and ICICI bank, and on 18 April 2013 ICICI introduced M-Pesa. With all its services Vodafone has aimed to carry out the features and benefits of M-Pesa across India. Things changed in June 2012, when the Reserve Bank of India started giving out licences to start mobile wallet, and Vodafone applied. But the RBI did allow interoperability with a bank, which enabled Vodafone to tie up with ICICI Bank to allow cash out options. To use this service, the retailers and merchants will have to download the Vodafone M-Pesa app, which has been offering payment and money transfer options to end users for a while and then register themselves as a merchant.